Highlight Stories

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

INNOVATIVE THINKING

SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Davey Launches Green Leaders Program

Davey has a long-standing tradition of helping the communities where we live and work, and giving back in a meaningful way has always been important to its employees. With these ideas in mind, the Davey Green Leaders program was created and officially launched in 2018. The program supports employees’ passions and desires to help others as well as any activities or initiatives that promote trees, sustainable landscapes and the environment. It also asks that they log those volunteer hours so we can have a comprehensive view of the many ways Davey and its employees are helping to grow a better future for our communities. With over 19,000 submitted volunteer hours for approximately 600 different organizations, the program’s first year was a success.
Ian Johnston of DRG Canada, who volunteered more than 900 hours and had the highest recorded amount for 2018 says, “Helping others brings great satisfaction and is a way I can make a small contribution towards the betterment of society.”

Davey Launches Green Leaders Program

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Continuing Education at Davey

The Davey Institute provides employees opportunities to earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to maintain their International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist® accreditation through online courses. The Davey Institute website for education and training allows employees to access a variety of extension lessons on subjects such as tree care and lawn care.
All tree-related lessons have been approved for ISA re-certification credits, and many states have approved Davey’s courses for state pesticide applicator CEU credits. Providing continuing education opportunities and resources to our employees is just one way we foster personal and professional development and create pathways for growth and career advancement at Davey.

Continuing Education at Davey

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Davey Wins Three TCIA Communications Awards

The Davey Tree Expert Company was awarded three 2017 Professional Communications Awards from the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA).
More than 20 years old, this program honors marketing and communication excellence within the tree care industry. Davey won two first-place awards, and a third-place in three separate categories: flyer/ad/postcard, digital/social media and website.
The Economic Benefits of Trees bookmark was awarded first place in the flyer/ad/postcard category. The bookmark embraces awareness of trees by illustrating 10 ways trees give back to us economically, and was handed out to attendees at several different conferences.
Davey’s Mannequin Challenge video took the first-place award in the digital/social media category. The video joined in on a fun, current social media trend and celebrated the more than 50 employees who took part in the 2017 Davey Institute of Tree Sciences (D.I.T.S.) intensive month-long training program.
The Davey Blog was awarded third place in the website category. The blog is a digital library of educational content answering real questions with clear advice and tips from professional arborists.

“The TCIA Communication Awards are an exciting opportunity to showcase some of the work our team is most proud of, and we are grateful to receive these awards. Beginning the year with this recognition within the industry gives us a great start to create more fun and effective communication pieces in 2018.”Sandra Reid, vice president, Davey corporate communications and strategic planning administration

Davey Wins Three TCIA Communications Awards

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

A Smarter Fleet

With nearly 10,000 vehicles spread across the continent, managing Davey’s vehicle fleet is complex. In 2016, we began piloting a new tool in utility vehicles to streamline our mobile resource management—the Davey Fleet Solutions program. A suite of Telogis integrated mobile applications, the Fleet Solutions program provides employees a simple, yet comprehensive solution to fleet management.
Through tablets installed in each truck cab, employees can access training videos, digital inspection and job briefing forms, electronic safety tailgate documents and other materials. In addition, drivers can fill out digital vehicle inspection reports, take photographs and submit all the information instantly to a central database.
Real-time tracking of non-productive idling, start times and time on site supports efficient asset deployment. Data also supports driver safety—tracking driver habits through a mobile interface that reports on driver performance. The interface also rates drivers against their peers, encouraging improved driving through friendly competition. Top drivers in the program are also rewarded for earning high marks.
So far, we have expanded the Davey Fleet Solutions program to more than 500 vehicles—approximately 10 percent of our Utility fleet.
“We’re able to pull utilization rates daily—that’s a real benefit. When we see a truck sitting idle or at 30 percent utilization, we’re able to transfer it to another client or region right away.” Laura Wimer, director of client experience, Eastern Utility

A Smarter Fleet

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Davey Adopts Signal Tree

The Davey Tree Expert Company committed to adopting one of Akron’s most iconic historical landmarks, the Signal Tree. Located in the Summit Metro Parks, the tree is estimated to be more than 350 years old with a rich, local history.
This adoption ensures the Signal Tree continues to receive proper arboricultural care for the next five years. Davey’s Akron Residential/Commercial office will provide regular maintenance of the tree in addition to annual assessments of the tree’s health. Davey Tree has a long history of working with the Signal Tree and has been involved in its care for more than 40 years. Among many different theories, the Signal Tree is said to have been a landmark for Native Americans to hold ceremonial gatherings. No one is quite sure of the exact historical significance of the tree, but the three-prong trunk is certainly indicative that its growth pattern was manually shaped by humans.
Davey Tree will continue to donate care for the Signal Tree through 2022.

“As a tree care company, we have a special interest and appreciation for large, historical wonders like the Signal Tree. And since the Signal Tree is in a public green space, it’s especially important that we keep it healthy so our community can enjoy its beauty and the benefits of a healthy and beautiful green space for many years to come.” Sandra Reid, vice president of corporate communications and strategic planning administration

Davey Adopts Signal Tree

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

Nearly 400 Davey Employees Earn Factors and Forces ‘Diploma’

Close to 400 Davey employees attended and “graduated” from Factors and Forces training courses in 2018.
The training program, implemented in 2018, provides instruction on tree risk assessment. Attendees are taught to determine the risks associated with working in, on or near a tree in a straightforward and efficient manner using terminology printed on custom work gloves.
The Factors and Forces gloves, which are only available to employees who attend and pass the course, feature the five factors that can cause strength loss in a tree and the forces that can alter those factors – such as weak branch attachment or decay being impacted by wind or ice, causing a failure. The work gloves are considered the diploma for participants and are awarded upon completion.
R.J. Laverne, manager of education and training, Davey Institute, traveled across the U.S. in 2018 to facilitate 11 instructor-led sessions, which typically grouped together employees from multiple Residential/Commercial offices. Sessions were also held for employees in Eastern Utility services and Davey Resource Group.
In addition to the 378 graduates of the instructor-led program several more employees completed the digital course available online through the Davey Learning Management System.
“I encourage people who attend the program to offer their ideas, criticisms and input. The only way to evolve and improve the program is to continually get the knowledge, insight and experience of people who have that knowledge of climbing, rigging, roping and generally working in trees. That’s why we built the program.”RJ Laverne, manager of education and training, Davey Institute

Nearly 400 Davey Employees Earn Factors and Forces ‘Diploma’

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Davey Coordinates Day of Service

Highfield Hall celebrated Arbor Day for the first time in a decade, thanks to the help of Davey. Steven Mercer, a sales arborist at Davey's Cape Cod Residential/Commercial office, helped to coordinate the day of service. Highfield Hall is a restored Cape Cod estate used as center of cultural and community life. Davey employees provided services such as pruning, tree-removal and stump grinding.
Mercer recruited local tree companies to join Davey in the day of service, and more than $6,000 worth of tree services were donated to Highfield Hall. The services were vital to honor the hall’s historic trees and plant the next generation.

“It was a great day made even better by your expert help. We likely would have had to expend several hundred if not thousands of dollars for what you gave as an in-kind contribution. These are dollars saved, which we are able to apply directly to support the programs and services we provide in our community."Peter Franklin, executive director of Highfield Hall

Davey Coordinates Day of Service

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Room to Grow

In May 2017, Davey acquired 170 acres of land across the street from our corporate headquarters in Kent, Ohio. The abundance of trees and green space, diverse topography and proximity to our current corporate offices provides Davey ample opportunity for capability and facility expansion.
Known as the Davey East Campus, the property could also include additional office space for our corporate functions. The property offers a variety of areas for showcasing many of Davey’s diverse services, such as wetland management around the Cuyahoga River, golf course maintenance expertise or our core tree services.
Davey has a long history of research and training in the Kent area, and this property will allow our integrated teams of plant, soil and insect scientists, computer specialists and horticulture and arboriculture researchers to work together in state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor laboratories.
“I think we have to be thoughtful about where we continue to grow. There’s tremendous opportunities to continue to grow, but we want to make sure we do it in a strategic way.” Pat Covey, president and chief executive officer

Room to Grow

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Davey Establishes Educational Endowment for TREE Fund

The Davey Tree Expert Company proudly pledged a $250,000 educational endowment fund through TREE Fund. The Davey Fund supports community-based arboricultural education in the United States. Davey Tree has a history of supporting TREE Fund’s dedication to furthering scientific discovery and research in the field of arboriculture and has given more than $500,000 in donations and in-kind gifts over the last 15 years.
TREE Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to supporting scientific discovery and dissemination of new knowledge in the fields of arboriculture and urban forestry. Its primary public outreach and fundraising event is the green industry renowned Tour des Trees, an annual weeklong, 500+ mile cycling adventure. Since 1992 Tour riders have cycled through communities in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., planting trees, educating children and shining a light on the work done by arboriculture professionals and the importance of science-based tree care.
Davey’s pledge of $250,000 over five years will be allocated directly to the funding of scientific research on urban tree care issues and community-based education.

“As the Davey Company continues to evolve and grow, it’s increasingly important that we invest in research that will advance not only our company, but the industry that we are so proud to be part of. With the establishment of the Davey Fund, we strengthen our long-time commitment to TREE Fund and its mission to support arboricultural research. This endowment fund is a reflection of our employee-owners’ dedication to continued education and the advancement of arboriculture throughout our industry.”Pat Covey, president and CEO of Davey Tree

Davey Establishes Educational Endowment for TREE Fund

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

A ‘Handy’ Safety Reminder From Your Family

“My wife and my kids are everything,” Fred Allison, a senior foreman at Wolf Tree, Inc., a Davey company, said. “They’re why I’m here working. It’s all for them.” Throughout the day, Allison thinks of them often. In fact, each time he looks down at his gloves he sees his wife’s name. “When I look at my gloves and see her name, it reminds me to do it the right, safe way. Then, you can go home to your family and the people that you love at the end of the day,” Allison said.
When Michael McCollum had the idea for this new safety initiative, that’s exactly what he was hoping would happen. McCollum had supervisors gather their crews and review the last two safety incidents. Then, each employee got a pair of gloves and wrote the name of their loved ones across them. They were encouraged to think about those names when they’re working and how those people would be affected if anything happened on the job.
“A lot of the guys thanked us for taking the time out to do something like this. When you stop production for 30 minutes, it shows how important it is,” McCollum said. “It also shows we care.” Allison agreed. “The company is all about family,” he said. “When I see names on my employees’ gloves, I ask who that is. You get to know the man or woman you’re working with. You can relate to them and their family. It makes me want to do everything right so that they can go home to their family, too.” Allison knows it’s not just about himself at work. It’s about keeping each member of his crew safe as well.
When we all look out for each other like family, everyone wins.

A ‘Handy’ Safety Reminder From Your Family

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

Davey Crews Aid Hurricane Clean-up

Traveling from as far away as Maine and California, more than 1,000 Davey employees aided Hurricane Irma recovery efforts. Because the storm hit so shortly after Hurricane Harvey, some crews went directly from storm work in Texas to storm work in Florida.
Many crews convoyed to locations closer to the storm path a week prior to landfall so that they could respond immediately after the storm subsided. While waiting for the storm, crews reviewed safety procedures and prepared equipment.
The crews’ response to Harvey was unique because it lacked hazards common in other storms, such as downed power lines and trees laying on power lines under tension. Instead of typical tree damage due to high winds, it was primarily uprooted trees due to flooding and soil saturation.
After Hurricane Irma came through, the damage in Florida included fallen trees, but much of the cleanup work consisted of broken limbs on lines and leaning trees, or damaged trees otherwise blocking the utility rights-of-way.
After the storm, crews from all of Davey’s service lines spent weeks identifying and removing tree hazards to help power companies restore electricity quickly.
“We cannot fully express how proud we are of these employees. We are grateful, our clients are grateful, and the public is grateful for their service. Above all, we are happy that they came home safely.” Brent Repenning, executive vice president, U.S. Utility and Davey Resource Group

Davey Crews Aid Hurricane Clean-up

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

Davey and Partners Launch Shigo Collection Website

Davey, along with the Southern Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) and the USDA Forest Service, proudly announce the launch of the Shigo Collection Learning Resource Center website. The website, shigo.davey.com, creates a platform for viewing part of Dr. Alex Shigo’s collection and to learn about his legacy. The website features 3-D renditions of Dr. Shigo’s wood collection, dozens of his over 300 publications and personal history and accomplishments.

In addition to making the Shigo Collection available for public access online, Davey is integrating the content into the curriculum of the Davey Institute of Tree Sciences, Davey’s flagship training program in biological sciences, safety, tree and plant care and management techniques. As part of this industry partnership, and in the spirit of continued education and work force development, Davey is also providing financial support to the Southern Chapter Memorial Scholarship.

“This partnership is dedicated to the preservation of monumental contributions Dr. Shigo made to modern arboriculture. This website creates the opportunity for students of arboriculture everywhere to interact with the rich history and knowledge of the Shigo Collection.”Greg Ina, executive vice president of the Davey Institute and employee development

Davey and Partners Launch Shigo Collection Website

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

Fire-Fighting Effort Earns Award

Dan Defelice, a UVM specialist, San Diego Gas & Electric account, Davey Resource Group, was traveling to the office when he noticed a fire with billowing smoke on the side of the highway.
Defelice speedily dialed 911, only to hear a blaring busy signal. Knowing he had a backpack-style fire pump, Defelice sprang into action and put his fire training to use. He knew the fire was still small enough that he could work to put it out safely.
Defelice hoped he could stop it from spreading. Instead, he put the fire out from a safe distance within a few minutes.
“You can always do something to help. Just stay calm, step up and do what you gotta do.” Dan Defelice, UVM specialist, San Diego Gas & Electric account, Davey Resource Group

Fire-Fighting Effort Earns Award

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Elizabeth River Landscape Management Joins Davey

Elizabeth River Landscape Management, a commercial landscape company based in Suffolk, Virginia, has joined The Davey Tree Expert Company family of brands. Elizabeth River Landscape Management provides specialized commercial landscape management services in addition to irrigation, landscape installation, tree care, snow removal and emergency response.
“Elizabeth River is excited to join Davey for many reasons. Most importantly, we value their commitment and enthusiasm toward honesty, customer service and high-quality full-service landscape and tree care,” said Jason Fawcett, CEO, Elizabeth River Lawn and Landscape, Inc. “With Davey, not only will our employees have additional career and training opportunities, but they will also have the opportunity to participate in Davey’s employee-ownership program.”
Dan Joy, executive vice president and general manager, commercial services, said Davey is excited to welcome the talented and client-focused employees of Elizabeth River Landscape Management.
“Elizabeth River Landscape Management is a commercial landscape company with a great reputation and this change allows their clients to experience Davey’s diversified service offerings in this area,” said Joy. “Clients will still see the same focus on exceptional service, but also now have access to Davey’s technology and equipment, and research and development capabilities provided by the Davey Institute.”
Based in Suffolk, Virginia, Elizabeth River Landscape Management has 130 employees at additional locations in Virginia Beach, Yorktown and Richmond, Virginia, operating a total five territories.

Elizabeth River Landscape Management Joins Davey

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Spreading Mulch and Tree Love

Tallahassee, Florida, celebrated the state’s Arbor Day this year by planting 185 trees throughout Apalachee Regional Park. More than 100 volunteers stepped out to reconnect with nature and give back to their community with the gift of trees. After the trees were planted, six Wolf Tree, Inc., a Davey company, employees tended to the trees by properly mulching each tree. The Wolf Tree employees, George Trice, Jeff Teehee, Harold Robison, John Conley and Ronnie Ruth came out to the park on a cold and rainy Saturday to make sure the community would have these trees to enjoy for many years to come – now that’s tree love!

Spreading Mulch and Tree Love

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

Emphasis on Safety

Many employees at Davey wear different hats during the work day. But for eight Utility accounts in Pennsylvania, the employees there literally wear a different color on their hardhat to represent their strong commitment to safety.
Bill Bunker, area manager, Utility services, got together with Jason Henry, area supervisor, Utility services, and Roy Montan, senior regional safety specialist, corporate safety department, and brainstormed a way to emphasize safety for Bunker and Henry’s crews.
As a result, they developed a pilot safety program on the FirstEnergy account in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to test their new idea and see if it could be expanded to other crews.
Henry said they decided that each week one member of the crew would wear a mesh wrap on their hardhat. The wrap changes the color of their Davey hardhat to a bright, fluorescent green and orange color.
So far, the program has performed well. The pilot program’s success means it is now being expanded to several other accounts under Bunker. The program has expanded to the United Electric and Central Electric accounts, along with several other FirstEnergy accounts, and now includes about 140 total Davey employees.

“The idea behind this was to have an extra set of eyes, in addition to the crew foreman, who’s watching out for the entire crew’s safety. They work on the ground and just act as another line of defense for the whole team.”Jason Henry, area supervisor, Utility services

Emphasis on Safety

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

Embracing the Skies

Each day, our teams at the Davey Resource Group (DRG) and Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. (WSSI) assist clients with planning and managing their landscapes. From wetland restoration to endangered species consulting, our scientists, foresters and planners work tirelessly to protect our clients’ natural resources. In 2017, DRG and WSSI added several drones to their equipment fleets, providing Davey technicians another tool to help deliver unmatched services.
Equipped with drones, Davey’s certified drone pilots can offer a variety of aerial inspection services to our clients, such as:

Providing images for inspection of utility rights-of-way clearances

Imaging for GIS mapping

Wetland inspection

Tree canopy control work

Historically, technicians have often relied on lower-quality satellite imagery for many of these applications. The high-resolution cameras on our drones offer improved aerial imagery, as well as videography capabilities. The drones also enable Davey to correct image distortion, providing more detailed, spatially correct topographical sitemaps and taking our mapping services to new heights.
“Our main goal is to continue providing our clients with innovative solutions that meet their needs and exceed the quality they expect.” Deborah Sheeler, production manager, Davey Resource Group

Embracing the Skies

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

Close Call Communicator

In 2017, we implemented our Electronic Close Call Communicator, making it easier than ever to report and debrief close call incidents and build tools and tactics for prevention. Accessible through a mobile app, the Close Call Communicator creates a company-wide platform for safety communication. Davey employees have reported more than 500 close calls using the new system, tripling the number reported last year.
The Close Call Communicator also provides a further mechanism for us to analyze safety trends over time. These data enable us to proactively address potential safety risks to prevent injury or property damage.
Building on the Close Call Communicator, we plan to integrate electronic incident reporting with field and motor safety observations into our risk management system. These combined efforts serve to improve the holistic management of safety across our operations. By examining data over time, Davey will see trends and use them to inform preemptive actions that will drive us forward on the Road to Zero.“With hundreds of reported close calls, we can now look at data trends more specifically. Sharing these data across our operations will help our field employees anticipate and manage hazards.” Joe Tommasi, vice president of corporate safety

Close Call Communicator

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Honoring Veterans With Trees

To honor both trees and veterans, Davey Resource Group (DRG) helped plant half a dozen trees this Arbor Day in Fall River, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts’ Department of Conservation and Recreation worked alongside DRG employees to replace windstorm damaged trees with a resistant variety of American elm trees.
Fall River Street Tree Planting Program (FRSTPP) organized the event and invited Andy Hillman, regional business developer for DRG, and Liz McKinley, associate consultant for DRG, to demonstrate proper planting and mulching procedures. The mayor of Fall River dedicated the trees to Fall River veterans who were killed in the Gulf War and Mary Ann Wordell, the founder and president of the FRSTPP.

“We’ve done this planting in Fall River since 2011. We even transplanted a giant sequoia tree one year for Arbor Day.”Andy Hillman, regional business developer, DRG

Honoring Veterans With Trees

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

A Culture of Safety

The crews on the Newberry Electric Co-Op account in Newberry, South Carolina have gone 3,200 days without an OSHA recordable incident by mixing dedication and comradery. In 2007, Davey’s Newberry account work group started keeping track of the days they worked incident free with a sign on the gate to their yard. As the count continues to grow, their sense of pride and a desire to reach the next milestone becomes stronger.
Kenny Rowe, senior regional safety specialist and former supervisor of the Newberry account, said reaching this milestone proves you can get production done while focusing on safety. Johnny Wilson, manager, field safety support, said Davey’s Road to Zero program, the goal of zero incidents, is creating a safety culture. The leadership has changed, but the culture of caring for each other remains, “Chris (Scott) has done a fantastic job keeping it going,” Rowe said. “One crew member’s goal is to retire with no incidents,” Scott said. “Everybody has their own personal goals for safety.” Scott’s advice for others looking to reach this milestone is to “listen to what they have to say and take it to heart.”
One key to achieving such success is strong safety leadership, employees tend to model how their supervisors perform.

“The kind of work we do is very hazardous, so a lot of people said it couldn’t be done. We’ve shown that clearly it’s possible, but it’s a long road.”Chris Scott, general foreman on the Newberry account

A Culture of Safety

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

New Age Communications Construction Joins Davey Resource Group

Davey Resource Group, Inc. (DRG), a subsidiary of The Davey Tree Expert Company, acquired the assets of New Age Communications Construction, LLC, (NACC), a telecommunications construction firm based in Cincinnati, Ohio. NACC provides fiber construction, small cell deployment and cable maintenance and construction services for the telecommunications industry in parts of the Northeast, Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Scott Carlin, vice president, asset management services, DRG, said “we look forward to providing the experienced and committed employees of NACC with the opportunity to grow their careers in a culture that is supported by all the benefits of employee-ownership.“The construction, installation and maintenance services expertise of NACC further enhances our ability to provide clients a single-source to deploy fiber and wireless infrastructure. The strength of DRG has always been our commitment to meeting clients’ needs. With the addition of NACC, we are structured to support our clients’ demand for a streamlined process to 5G deployment.”

Scott Carlin, vice president, asset management services, DRG

New Age Communications Construction Joins Davey Resource Group

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

Davey Surgery Holds Fire Safety Meeting

Every year at the start of fire season, all field level managers and senior managers from the Davey Tree Surgery Company meet in California to discuss the Davey Fire Plan and fire prevention.
Before the meeting, the fire plan is reviewed and goals for improvement are made, said Bill Heriford, operations manager, the Davey Tree Surgery Company.
“This year, all field level managers were requested to go through the Factors and Forces courses online prior to fire season,” Heriford said.
The Forces and Factors course was developed by the Davey Institute and the corporate safety department. This course teaches participants a straightforward, efficient way to determine the risks related to climbing or working in, on or near a tree.

Davey Surgery Holds Fire Safety Meeting

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

DRG Assists with Napa Wildfire Response

During the 2017 Northern California wildfires, PG&E called on 30 Davey Resource Group (DRG) employees to lead inspections of the affected areas. The base camp was set in a Napa vineyard with rows of trailers, equipment, generators and trucks filling the space. The trailers were filled with bunks, dining halls and offices for the contractors as there was no time for inspectors to go home during the fires.
Inspectors were tasked with surveying the areas affected by the fires and determining which trees presented imminent hazards. At the time, fires still burned throughout Northern California. Because of the dangerous conditions, safety precautions required that everyone work in pairs, increasing time spent in the field.
DRG employees worked seven days a week, inspecting each tree at least three or four times. Accurately identifying dangerous trees was critical, as many trees were in neighborhoods and around people. DRG employees’ due diligence paid off, as many trees that passed the first inspection were later found hazardous. For example, some of the fires that ripped through the area were very low, so the trees would appear healthy at the top, but weeks later, another inspection would show that the fire had scorched the roots and the tree would be entirely brown.
DRG employees were stationed at base camp and performed tree inspections throughout the affected areas for about five weeks. After base camp was broken down, wildfire management was ongoing, but on a smaller scale. Davey is proud to have been a part of the containment efforts and will continue to deliver unmatched excellence to our clients in Northern California.
“[The work] was emotionally heavy because this wasn’t just fire burning in desolate areas, this was fire ripping through people’s neighborhoods and causing massive devastation. We were dealing with people who had just lost everything.” Jonah Schwartz, project coordinator, Davey Resource Group

DRG Assists with Napa Wildfire Response

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

WSSI Teaches Water Management

In mid-2017, Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. (WSSI), a Davey company, hosted a delegation from China at its LEED® certified headquarters to discuss stormwater management. The group comprised of 19 government officials from the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Department of Shandong Province.
Local government officials from Prince William County, Virginia, approached WSSI to share their experience and expertise in water management. The visitors toured WSSI’s office, which incorporates numerous stormwater management techniques, including a green roof. Next, the group saw several nearby stormwater management project sites in the Gainesville, Virginia, area.
During the tours, the Chinese delegation observed various methods of stormwater management, such as stormwater harvesting—the practice of collecting and reusing rain water runoff.

WSSI Teaches Water Management

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Davey Women Growing Stronger Together

In a male-dominated industry, three female employees of the Davey Resource Group (DRG) united at an event created by women climbers for women climbers. They learned about climbing equipment and techniques at the Western Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture’s three-day workshop.
Jenn Mahley, senior consulting utility forester, DRG; Jillian Keller, consulting utility forester, DRG and Jessika Mitchell, associate consultant, DRG, comprised nearly 20 percent of the event’s attendees. They learned climbing and safety skills- everything from planning a route and inspecting gear to tying knots and throwing lines.
“Not only was I excited about learning how to climb,” Mahley said, “but I knew that it would also improve my skill set and advance my career.”
In the past year, Mahley completed this workshop and also became an ISA Certified Arborist® and ISA Arborist Utility Specialist™. For Mahley, investing in industry education worked. She got promoted after a year because of her dedication. If you’re contemplating investing the time or money in training, Mahley advises taking the leap.

Davey Women Growing Stronger Together

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

Beech Leaf Disease Research Partnership

The mysterious beech leaf disease, which was first detected in Ohio in 2012 and has no identified causal agent yet, gave Davey’s Anand Persad, manager, arboriculture and plant sciences, the opportunity to present on groundbreaking research into the disease.
Persad was one of several invited speakers at the 2018 Beech Leaf Disease Workshop at Cleveland Metroparks Watershed Stewardship Center in May. Davey partnered with the Metroparks to conduct research on beech trees in the parks.
Persad said one aspect of Davey’s research includes trenching around smaller trees and treating select beech trees within the parks with a potassium-based fertilizer to see if it can both sustain the trees and help protect them from the disease.
Speakers and attendees at the two-day workshop came from across the U.S. and included numerous state and federal researchers and policymakers.

“If the research proves that this method works, then we could have the beginnings of a Plant Health Care program for beech trees with regard to this disease.” Anand Persad, manager, arboriculture and plant sciences

Beech Leaf Disease Research Partnership

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Davey Ranked 12th Largest Employee-Owned Company

The Davey Tree Expert Company is the 12th largest employee-owned company in the U.S., according to the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO). The list shows Davey’s growth as the company moved from the 13th largest company in 2017 to the 12th largest in 2018.
The NCEO’s 2018 Employee Ownership 100 list includes the nation’s largest companies that are majority owned by an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) or other broad-based employee ownership plan.
Davey employs over 9,500 people and has been employee-owned since 1979 when employees successfully bought the company from the family of its founder, John Davey.

“Our 9,500 dedicated employees continue to be trusted advisors and service providers to our clients, leading to tremendous opportunities for growth for our company and employee owners. A relentless focus on the strength and development of our employees is the driving force behind our success and strong performance.”Pat Covey, Davey’s President and CEO

Davey Ranked 12th Largest Employee-Owned Company

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Greening Our Equipment

This year, we established a bold goal to reduce our global fleet fuel consumption by 35% per labor hour by 2023 from a 2017 baseline. Since 95 percent of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emission footprint comes from our corporate fleet, achieving this goal requires innovative equipment.
In 2017, the Davey Institute and equipment department partnered with Husqvarna to pilot lithium-ion battery-powered equipment, such as tree trimmers and leaf blowers. Testing the equipment with our residential and commercial business segments, we found that this equipment performs on par with, or better than, gas-powered equipment. Furthermore, this equipment is substantially quieter and physically less straining on our employees’ arms and hands.
Due to the pilot’s success, the Davey Institute endorsed the battery-powered tools for all offices to consider when replacing older equipment. Two offices in Northeast Ohio have already switched exclusively to battery-powered equipment, and we will continue to promote battery-powered equipment throughout our operations in 2018.
“The battery-powered equipment is not only quieter, protecting our employees’ hearing and providing a quieter neighborhood around job sites, it also lowers the risk of hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). Compared with gas-powered chainsaws, vibrations in the battery-powered equipment are almost nonexistent.” Mike Veney, manager of environmental programs

Greening Our Equipment

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

DRG Provides Educational Support for Client

Jim Jenkins, senior project manager, Davey Resource Group (DRG), worked with the North Detroit R/C office to provide a tree climbing safety presentation for the Department of Public Works (DPW) in Ferndale, Michigan.
The DRG natural resource consulting team in Michigan works with the city of Ferndale on a four-phase tree inventory to collect data for the DPW to promote their urban forest and prioritize tree work. DRG has a second consulting contract with the city through which Jenkins supplies various training sessions, including a tree climbing safety training.
Josh Leo, district manager, and Jake Swearingen, sales representative, North Detroit R/C office, talked with the staff about climbing and chainsaw safety.

“We are giving a baseline understanding of what tree climbing involves, including the equipment and the safety precautions in hopes that they might incorporate some of those requirements into their requests for proposal.”Jim Jenkins, senior project manager, Davey Resource Group

DRG Provides Educational Support for Client

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

A Day to Celebrate!

The city of Davis, California, had a great reason to celebrate Arbor Day 2018. Preparing to receive its 40th consecutive award for being a Tree City USA, Davey Resource Group (DRG) helped the Davis community honor their trees.
DRG’s Anne Fenkner presented a nearby municipality's urban forest master plan to share goals for the continued growth of Davis’ urban forest. At the event, DRG brought games including cornhole and a “what’s inside?” box, inviting kids to discover more about trees. In the spirit of St. Patty’s Day, DRG provided Davey Doubloons, a souvenir from this fun-filled day.
Providing fun and games, DRG helped the City of Davis to celebrate their love of trees.

A Day to Celebrate!

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

A Davey Legacy Built on Science

The Davey Institute of Tree Sciences (D.I.T.S.) welcomed 51 Davey employees from across North America to our annual month-long, hands-on course. Employees with varying levels of experience and education participate in this intense experience to learn decades of tree care knowledge in just four weeks. For example, identifying tree and plant problems is a difficult skill to master for many D.I.T.S. students, especially if they do not deal with tree biology in their daily work. But, learning this skill will help keep employees safe on the job, particularly when working with dead or dying trees on utility rights-of-way.
The D.I.T.S. legacy of educating generations of Davey’s finest tree care professionals spans more than a century, and we are proud of the 51 graduates that will carry on this legacy into the future.
“Diagnosing trees and infestations tested me the most, but this is why I wanted to come to D.I.T.S. I wanted to get a better handle on that kind of stuff and make me ultimately more effective in my role as a manager. The more well-rounded I can be, the better.” Kyle Wilson, district manager, North Muskoka, Ontario, Canada

A Davey Legacy Built on Science

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Wood Block Becomes Art for Client

FirstEnergy, one of our valued clients, hosted a Family Safety Day at their complex in Fairlawn, Ohio, to educate employees families on the importance of safety. While the event was focused on safety, it was also chock full of good old-fashioned fun. Sharing a mutual commitment to safety, we eagerly accepted when asked to participate in the event. Additionally, Davey sponsored a woodcarving demonstration at the event, using wood waste from our operations to create a lasting piece of art. A local woodcarver, Bob Anderson, shaped the block of wood into a bear with a welcome sign, which was given away as a door prize at the event.
To emphasize the event’s safety focus, Anderson worked behind safety barriers while wearing the correct personal protective equipment (PPE). Two Davey employees, Lee Jordan, area manager, Utility Services and Shane Adams, general foreman, FirstEnergy account, were on hand to help answer safety questions during the demonstration. The entire process took about two hours to complete and resulted in a unique, one-of-a-kind piece for a lucky family.

Wood Block Becomes Art for Client

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

Factors and Forces…and Fashion

Soon, you’ll see more Davey employees spreading knowledge without uttering a word. Just look at their gloves.
In 2017, Davey released our Factors and Forces curriculum, which enhances our employees’ knowledge of the five factors that lead to strength loss in trees and five forces that trigger tree failure. Combined with our new tree climbing safety protocol, Factors and Forces enables crews to identify potential weaknesses and to avoid branch, trunk or root failures while climbing trees.
Accessible via the Learning Management System, Factors and Forces consists of educational materials, videos and quizzes—teaching participants a straightforward, efficient method to determine the risk related to climbing or working in, on or near a tree. The curriculum also includes regional components for employees.
Those who complete Davey’s Factors and Forces training—a new safety course designed by the Davey Institute and the corporate safety department—receive a pair of custom work gloves. The gloves list on each finger one of the five factors and five forces, and serve as an educational aid to help identify, communicate and manage risk, which helps the climber and their team to stay safe.
“I like to think of the gloves as the diploma for completing Factors and Forces.”R.J. Laverne, manager of education and training

Factors and Forces…and Fashion

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Expanding the Davey Tree Family

The Davey Tree Expert Company proudly welcomed two companies into our family of brands in 2017: Arborguard, a residential and commercial tree care company based in Atlanta, with operations in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Arborel Tree Service, a residential tree and lawn care company operating in Pittsburgh.
Since 1981, Arborguard Tree Specialists have provided tree and plant health care services to residential and commercial clients in the Southeast, including some of the region’s prestigious golf courses and resorts. The late Spence Rosenfeld, owner and founder of Arborguard, saw the partnership with Davey as a natural fit given Davey’s reputation for integrity, innovation and leadership and its focus on safety and environmental stewardship.
Since 2001, Arborel Tree Service provided specialized tree and plant health care services, lawn fertilization and pest management to clients in the greater Pittsburgh area. Arborel’s founder, Robert Kruljac, and employees looked forward to joining the culture of employee ownership and appreciated the shared passion for high-quality client service.
“Arborguard and Arborel are welcome additions to the Davey Family. Like Davey, they both provide excellent tree care while concentrating on client experience and quality control.” Jim Stief, executive vice president, U.S. Residential Operations

Expanding the Davey Tree Family

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

Teaching i-Tree in Canada

Al Zelaya, urban forester, the Davey Institute, conducted a webinar hosted by the Canadian Institute of Forestry focusing on i-Tree tools for improving urban forest resilience and community health. The idea of the webinar was to introduce tools that Canadians could use, such as i-Tree Canopy, i-Tree Eco and i-Tree Design, Zelaya said. Zelaya hoped attendees left the webinar understanding that there are amazing ways to look at vegetation and the benefits it can provide communities.

“It’s about changing perceptions and opening their eyes to the services and values that vegetation right in front of them provides. Showing that trees are not only providing economic values, but many other social and environmental benefits that i-Tree and other tools can’t really quantify.”

Al Zelaya, urban forester, Davey Institute

Teaching i-Tree in Canada

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Teaching Tricks of the Tree Trade

When you share your passion, you create a spark in someone else. That’s what happened when Joe Pomeisl, sales arborist, New Jersey Residential/Commercial office, began working with Rick Close, who at the time was the office’s district manager.
“Rick was like a mentor to me when I started at Davey,” Pomeisl said. “Without him, my passion could have been just climbing – not trees.”
Pomeisl keeps in touch with Close, who is now an adjunct instructor at the County College of Morris. This past December, Close asked Pomeisl to present a hands-on training session about tree care safety to the college’s arboriculture students. To illustrate, Pomeisl narrated the process while his coworker Vince Peters, trimmer, demoed the techniques. Together, they shared the proper steps to prepare for climbing – from setting up the job to using the bucket truck and chipper safely.
“Both gentlemen represented the Davey Company in an extremely professional manner, were polite, humorous and very accommodating to questions by the students,” Close wrote in a thank you letter. Already, Close and Pomeisl are talking about doing this on a more regular basis.
“Doing training and educational sessions like this is beneficial. It shows Davey’s commitment to training and development,” Pomeisl said.
Pomeisl acknowledged his successful presentation was because of Davey’s investment in his education. Since joining Davey, Pomeisl graduated from the Davey Institute of Tree Sciences and became an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist®. Now, Pomeisl wants to share his experience at Davey and showcase potential careers in our industry.
“I hope the students learned that it’s okay to work with your hands and make an honest living by a trade,” Pomeisl said. “I used my passion to instill passion in others, and it felt great to teach people about what you love to do.”

Teaching Tricks of the Tree Trade

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

Climate Change and Arboriculture

Dan Herms, vice president of research and development for Davey, spoke about climate change and its impact on arboriculture at multiple conferences in 2018. In an interview with the Davey Bulletin, Herms shared his knowledge of climate change and how it affects Davey’s clients.
Weather and climate are differentiated by the measurements of time, climate is long-term, and weather varies daily. In a little over 100 years, the average temperature has risen 2 degrees Fahrenheit. This may not seem like much, but since the 80s, Earth has started warming faster than it has since the end of the last ice age almost 12,000 years ago.
There are no naturally occurring phenomena that could be causing the climate changes we are witnessing. Almost all scientists agree that this warming is caused by an accumulation of greenhouse gases (CO₂) in the atmosphere. For Davey clients, the warmer temperatures are contributing to pest problems, higher stress in trees and higher intensity of storms threatening trees, and the environment they live in. In other areas, tree growth is increasing because of increased precipitation and a longer growing season. With proper species selection and tree health care practices, trees can help mitigate climate change by decreasing energy use and sequestering carbon.

Climate Change and Arboriculture

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

Who Reminds You to Work Safely

This is why you are safe. The tens of thousands of decisions you make each day at work is all for them – the people you return home to after you clock out.
From here on out, that will be easier than ever to remember. This year, Davey rolled out “This is Why I’m Safe” photo frames that can stick to nearly any surface.
“These are about making safety personal and putting a face on the issue,” said Tim Walsh, director, corporate safety department. “I have a photo of my niece in mine. Every time I take off my helmet, I see her looking back at me and know I need to make good decisions.”
That’s the goal. Every time you make a choice during the day, you’ll see their faces and remember why it’s worth spending the time to do the task the right, safe way.

“Being safe is about making good decisions, whether you’re at work, at home, in your car, anywhere. All of our safety initiatives tie back into helping and reminding every employee why they need to make good, safe decisions all day long.”Tim Walsh, director of corporate safety

Who Reminds You to Work Safely

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

A Community Torn By Tragedy Starts Healing Through Green Space

In a city full of concrete and casinos, the people and city of Las Vegas turned their energies to creating a community healing garden, as a memorial to those who lost their lives in a tragic mass shooting in October. Matt Haro, district manager of the Las Vegas Residential/Commercial office, and a crew from his office volunteered for the following two days at the memorial garden doing anything that was needed. The vision of the garden was for 59 trees to be planted, one for each individual who lost their life that tragic evening at a concert on the Las Vegas Strip. The trees line a winding path through the garden, and at the heart of it is a grand oak tree surrounded by a heart-shaped bench. Also, in the garden is a wall of remembrance for visitors to leave a note. The garden was completed in 48 hours. After all the trees were planted, Haro sent a spray technician to the site to fertilize the trees and help them get off to a healthy start.
In addition to the work on the Healing Garden, the Davey Company donated to a fund, which directly supported funeral costs of those who lost their lives in the Las Vegas tragedy and health care expenses for those who were severely injured.

“It was pretty amazing to see the way the Las Vegas community came together during this time. Whether it was volunteering to work on the garden, repeatedly standing in long lines to donate blood, or donating money, everyone wanted to help, including our entire office.”Matt Haro, district manager, Las Vegas R/C office

A Community Torn By Tragedy Starts Healing Through Green Space

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Giving Back to Giving Trees

It’s only polite to say thank you when receiving a gift! This Arbor Day, DRG employees in Missouri showed gratitude to trees by participating in several events throughout the surrounding Twin Oak community. From planting, climbing and pruning, to engaging students and professionals in a variety of arboricultural processes, Missouri DRG embraced the importance of Arbor Day.
To get a wholesome education during Arbor Day, local students spent a school day in a different classroom: nature’s classroom. Throughout each activity, Missouri DRG employees shared their knowledge of tree care with participating students. Applying this knowledge outside of the classroom created an impactful Arbor Day experience for each student.
During the Arbor Day festivities for professionals, DRG employees educated attendees on how to use TreeKeeper8 inventory software effectively and highlighted helpful features. This was an opportunity to train partners on ways to develop proactive maintenance plans and demonstrate promoting tree benefits to the public.
By engaging several different groups in their local community, Missouri DRG employees were able to make an unforgettable impact for Arbor Day 2018.

Giving Back to Giving Trees

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

Davey Crew Prevents Potential Wildfire

Three Davey employees stopped a small wildfire from spreading in the Hat Creek area of Shasta County, California—located in high-risk Northern California. In 2017, the region recorded six wildfires that destroyed more than 40,000 acres in 2017.
While volunteering for a Saturday shift, the crew spotted the brush fire on the side of the highway encircling a large pine tree. After calling Cal Fire and 911, the crew grabbed the basic firefighting tools equipped on Davey trucks—a shovel, a spade with a 4-foot handle, a 5-gallon water backpack sprayer, a fire extinguisher and a McLeod tool—and set to work.
Foreman Jose Vargas and climbers Tony Aitkin and Christopher McCarley cut a fire line to prevent the fire from spreading, knocked the flames down using the sprayer, and then monitored the fire until local firefighters arrived. Davey’s regional safety managers conduct regular fire safety refresher courses with crews for these exact scenarios—the crew did a fantastic job!
“Davey crews aren’t firemen, but they know enough that if an incident happened in the field, they have the equipment to take care of themselves and suppress a small fire.” Dave Handt, regional safety manager

Davey Crew Prevents Potential Wildfire

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Supporting Summer Camp for Underprivileged Youth

For the third year in a row, Davey participated in the annual Christie Lake Kids Camp cleanup day. Hydro Ottawa, a longtime client, has been involved in this project for several years and invited to Davey to join in on the community outreach. Christie Lake Kids Camp is specifically designed to meet the needs of children from low-income families throughout the Ottawa area. While it includes all the fun outdoor activities of your typical summer camp, their curriculum emphasizes developing the campers physical and social skills during a two-week stay.
The annual cleanup day is all about getting the camp ready for the kids to enjoy throughout the summer. Davey donated a day of work, a bucket truck and six employees. The day was spent removing dead and hazardous trees, pruning vegetation around power lines and clearing some of the trails for hiking.

Supporting Summer Camp for Underprivileged Youth

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

Utility Arborists Talk Safety

The Utility Arborists Association (UAA) Oklahoma Safety Summit covered topics ranging from gear inspections to customer interactions, emergency responses and other situations. But, the real goal of the summit was giving field personnel the opportunity to discuss these various safety topics amongst peers.
Davey’s Tim Walsh, safety manager, corporate safety department, and UAA board of directors’ member, said attendees are intentionally broken up into discussion groups whose participants may include a CEO of a company or a crew leader to aid in a diverse discussion.
Davey sent several employees to the summit from the Oklahoma Gas & Electric account, and Walsh was one of the introductory presenters during the summit. He spoke about industry fatality statistics, changes in the OSHA standards and changes in the ANSI Z133 standards.
The Davey Tree Surgery Company and the Davey Resource Group served as gold level sponsors of the event.

Utility Arborists Talk Safety

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Planting the Future

Trees are treasured creatures for all ages, but there is something special about the view of trees through children’s eyes. The Kent State Child Development Center expressed an interest in adding a tree near the playground area for the children to read under, play around and learn about, and Davey jumped on the opportunity to provide the gift of a tree to local children. After donating a large red maple and handling the planting and mulching, Davey received the following sweet note from the students along with a photo and painting.
“This is Ari. She noticed the new tree by the playground and spent her entire time outside playing around it. She and her classmates were thinking of some ideas about the tree. They think it will get leaves in the summer. They think it will grow really big. They thought they should name it. They circled around it and sang happy birthday to it. They thought it would be great to make decorations and put on it.”

Planting the Future

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

Davey Wins Three Safety Awards from TCIA

The Davey Tree Expert Company was awarded three Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) Safety Awards for 2018.
Davey won two Outstanding Individual/Crew Performance safety awards. These awards recognize “an individual's or crew's heroic reaction to an emergency situation,” according to the TCIA website.
The winners of these awards were Amador Reyes, Jr., foreman, Eastern Utility services, and Matthew Shepherd, pictured, ecosystems specialist, Wetland Studies and Solutions, a Davey company. Reyes won for helping residents in Panama City, Florida, change a tire so they could continue to bring aid to their community after Hurricane Michael. Shepherd and his crew were recognized for noticing a fire had started in a townhouse unit near their work site and alerting the neighbors of the fire. Due to their quick action, no one was injured in the fire.
The third award was an Outstanding Company Contribution safety award, which recognizes a TCIA member's proactive program to address safety issues. Davey won for the Safety Mentor-Regional Level Initiative, with special recognition going to Bill Bunker, area manager, Eastern Utility services, and Randy Palmer, regional safety specialist. This local, crew-level initiative was developed to improve safety performance and engagement.

Davey Wins Three Safety Awards from TCIA

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Davey Supports High School Arboriculture Program

High school students studying arboriculture are getting some brand-new, professional grade climbing equipment thanks to support from Davey.
Davey made a $10,000 donation to the arboriculture program at Theodore Roosevelt High School, located next to the corporate campus. The money, along with a $5,000 grant from the TREE Fund, will pay for the purchase of 15 new sets of climbing gear, which includes ropes, harnesses, lanyards and carabiners.
The program is part of a six-district compact which includes students from across Northeast Ohio. Students in the program have worked alongside Davey employees, including at The John Davey Arboretum, to learn proper pruning and other tree care methods.

Davey Supports High School Arboriculture Program

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

Supporting J&J’s Sustainability Efforts

Longtime Davey client Johnson & Johnson presented details of its new sustainability goals during an Earth Day event at their Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, campus. Jason Parker, district manager of Davey’s North Philadelphia R/C office, was invited to attend the event.
Johnson & Johnson is working to make the campus 80 percent sustainable by 2020 and 100 percent by 2050. To meet this goal, the client installed a solar array and storm water management system on site, which has created some unique landscape maintenance challenges for Davey.
Davey crews regularly apply turf growth regulator around the solar array to minimize mowing requirements and prevent damage to the arrays, which are expensive to replace if accidentally damaged. The crews must keep wildflowers—seeded as part of a storm water management system—out of the turf.
Davey also prioritizes protecting the health of the 80-plus ash trees at the site against the emerald ash borer. Strict local regulations require inch-for-inch tree replacement for removed trees, which could result in a large expense should the trees require removal. For example, if a 30-inch tree was removed, enough new trees would need to be planted to equal the removed 30-inch tree. In addition to answering questions about the trees on Johnson & Johnson’s campus, Parker answered employees’ questions about how to protect their own trees.

Supporting J&J’s Sustainability Efforts

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

Innovative Solution Hydrates Trees

Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, nestled on a bluff, sits the San Elijo Campground, a place Vince Mikulanis, production manager with Davey Resource Group, remembers fondly from his childhood camping days.
This past Arbor Day, teams from the Davey Resource Group (DRG), the San Diego R/C office and over 70 volunteers partnered to help revitalize the campground, which was devastated by drought and the invasive insect, myoporum thrips. Volunteers installed Catalina ironwood, Catalina cherry and Torrey pine trees— drought tolerant trees that can withstand the salt-spray from the ocean and sandy soil—along with smaller shrubs.
Drought tolerant trees still require hydration, which sparked volunteers to suggest a novel source of water—ice from coolers. Campers traditionally dumped leftover or unused ice on the ground or in the streets. It is not uncommon to use 20 pounds of ice, which equates to about five gallons of water. Signs installed throughout the campground now encourage campers to take the ice over to the trees and dump it.
In June, Mikulanis visited the site and observed people heeding the recommendation and watering the trees with their cooler ice and water. He hopes 20 years from now, his children can camp at San Elijo and enjoy the improvements the volunteers made to the site this year.

Innovative Solution Hydrates Trees

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Modeling Green Infrastructure

Over the past few years, i-Tree has grown into a leading suite of natural resource modeling and valuation tools. A collaboration between Davey, the U.S. Forest Service and other partners, the i-Tree suite now comprises four downloadable programs and nine web-based applications. The free software aids users in modeling canopy cover and waterflow, controlling urban pollution and temperature, and analyses of landscape planning and design.
I-Tree Hydro, the first vegetation-specific urban hydrology model, enables urban planners, engineers and others to simulate the effects of changes in urban tree cover and impervious surfaces on the hydrologic cycle. Created with city-scale in mind, storm water engineers and natural resource managers can use i-Tree Hydro to assess how management practices can affect local stream responses to storms.
Version 6 of i-Tree Hydro, currently in beta testing, includes several enhancements, including enhanced green infrastructure modeling, pollution analyses, and climate-based simulations.

Modeling Green Infrastructure

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Bee Hive Thrives In New Home

While helping Refuge of Hope Ministries in Canton, Ohio, clear a lot for their expansion project, a crew from the Canton R/C office found a large honey bee nest in one of the trees.
“We run into hornet and yellow jackets nests in the field, but it’s not often we encounter honey bees,” said Jeffrey Wernet, district manager.
Crew members Steve Barchalk, foreman, Mike Ellis, foreman, and Jeremy Baker, trimmer, felled one of the last remaining trees on the lot. That’s when they discovered a honey bee nest about 14 to 15 feet up inside the tree.
Barchalk called Mueller Honey Bee Rescue, a local beekeeper, to see if they wanted to keep the bees and they did, Wernet said. The crew cut the portion of the log containing the nest and helped load it on a trailer.
The nest was removed from the tree and is now living inside a beehive. On the last warm day of 2018, the bees were still alive, and Mueller Honey Bee Rescue anticipates they will make it to spring.
“With all of this talk over the last couple of years about the honey bee populations declining, nobody wants to see a hive die out. I’m glad our crew had the mindset to do something to preserve the hive.”Jeff Wernet, district manager, Canton R/C office

Bee Hive Thrives In New Home

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Supporting Wounded Vets

Picture this; 70 acres of beach-style adventure camp with rope courses, lakeside trails, and physical fitness activities ranging from swimming and wakeboarding to archery and putt-putt. So cool! But, what’s even better is this adventure wonderland is designed specifically to welcome everyone -- wounded veterans, families of the fallen and adults and children with disabilities or special needs.
Camp Grom is a dream that came to life through the fundraising efforts of The Virginia Gentlemen Foundation.
The Foundation is a collective group of business owners and individuals with clout in the community who decided to pool their resources to help families affected by disabilities in the Virginia Beach area. Jason Fawcett, regional manager for Elizabeth River Landscape Management, a Davey company, is a member of the Foundation.
Elizabeth River Landscape Management, a Davey company, donated about 30 days of work to the initial landscape care for the camp.
“All of this is a reminder of what good can come out of something so bad. When we started talking about Camp Grom I knew this was a project that I wanted Elizabeth River to contribute to. The nature of it provided the perfect opportunity for us to step up and contribute our expertise.”Jason Fawcett, regional manager for Elizabeth River Landscape Management, a Davey company

Supporting Wounded Vets

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Bringing Fruit Trees to Ronald McDonald House

For Arbor Day, the sales management team from Davey’s San Diego R/C office helped bring some joy to children staying at Ronald McDonald House.
Daniel Kump, district manager, Ian Campbell, assistant district manager, and Matt Kirk, sales arborist, volunteered their time to plant two fruit trees in the house’s edible garden. The kids loved the trees so much that they named one “Lily the Lemon Tree” and the other “Chad the Guava Tree,” Campbell said. “They really loved digging in the dirt, planting them and putting rocks around them from the nearby other gardens to make them look special,” he said. “Lots of smiles and happy faces.”
At first, the Davey team hadn’t planned to do aftercare on the tree, but that quickly changed.
“Then we saw the reaction of the kids, the joy it brought them and how much ownership they were taking of them,” Campbell said. “They made us want to go the extra step to continue caring for the trees.”

Bringing Fruit Trees to Ronald McDonald House

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Davey Institute Expands Company Training Courses

The inaugural session of the Davey Institute of Utility Sciences (D.I.U.S.) convened at the Davey Institute to elevate the knowledge and capabilities of managers working in Utility services.
Anand Persad, manager, arboriculture and plant sciences, said D.I.U.S. is designed specifically to help employees in Utility services learn how best to address the needs of their clients, communities and coworkers.
Some aspects of the program included tree biomechanics, work planning, safety, technology implementation, environmental stewardship and social media awareness.
Students experienced a variety of hands-on lessons. In a safety exercise, students identified safety hazards or failures on 42 different pieces of equipment. In another lesson, students developed a work plan for a right-of-way. In another, students were called on to demonstrate the company’s hazardous spill procedures.

“This new program is intended to bring our mid-level management in Utility operations, our general foremen and up, up to speed on what the utility clients we serve see as emerging opportunities for expanding Davey’s service offerings.” Anand Persad, manager, arboriculture and plant sciences

Davey Institute Expands Company Training Courses

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

Factors and Forces…and Fashion

Soon, you’ll see more Davey employees spreading knowledge without uttering a word. Just look at their gloves.
In 2017, Davey released our Factors and Forces curriculum, which enhances our employees’ knowledge of the five factors that lead to strength loss in trees and five forces that trigger tree failure. Combined with our new tree climbing safety protocol, Factors and Forces enables crews to identify potential weaknesses and to avoid branch, trunk or root failures while climbing trees.
Accessible via the Learning Management System, Factors and Forces consists of educational materials, videos and quizzes—teaching participants a straightforward, efficient method to determine the risk related to climbing or working in, on or near a tree. The curriculum also includes regional components for employees.
Those who complete Davey’s Factors and Forces training—a new safety course designed by the Davey Institute and the corporate safety department—receive a pair of custom work gloves. The gloves list on each finger one of the five factors and five forces, and serve as an educational aid to help identify, communicate and manage risk, which helps the climber and their team to stay safe.
“I like to think of the gloves as the diploma for completing Factors and Forces.”R.J. Laverne, manager of education and training

Factors and Forces…and Fashion

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

Nearly 400 Davey Employees Earn Factors and Forces ‘Diploma’

Close to 400 Davey employees attended and “graduated” from Factors and Forces training courses in 2018.
The training program, implemented in 2018, provides instruction on tree risk assessment. Attendees are taught to determine the risks associated with working in, on or near a tree in a straightforward and efficient manner using terminology printed on custom work gloves.
The Factors and Forces gloves, which are only available to employees who attend and pass the course, feature the five factors that can cause strength loss in a tree and the forces that can alter those factors – such as weak branch attachment or decay being impacted by wind or ice, causing a failure. The work gloves are considered the diploma for participants and are awarded upon completion.
R.J. Laverne, manager of education and training, Davey Institute, traveled across the U.S. in 2018 to facilitate 11 instructor-led sessions, which typically grouped together employees from multiple Residential/Commercial offices. Sessions were also held for employees in Eastern Utility services and Davey Resource Group.
In addition to the 378 graduates of the instructor-led program several more employees completed the digital course available online through the Davey Learning Management System.
“I encourage people who attend the program to offer their ideas, criticisms and input. The only way to evolve and improve the program is to continually get the knowledge, insight and experience of people who have that knowledge of climbing, rigging, roping and generally working in trees. That’s why we built the program.”RJ Laverne, manager of education and training, Davey Institute

Nearly 400 Davey Employees Earn Factors and Forces ‘Diploma’

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

DRG Assists with Napa Wildfire Response

During the 2017 Northern California wildfires, PG&E called on 30 Davey Resource Group (DRG) employees to lead inspections of the affected areas. The base camp was set in a Napa vineyard with rows of trailers, equipment, generators and trucks filling the space. The trailers were filled with bunks, dining halls and offices for the contractors as there was no time for inspectors to go home during the fires.
Inspectors were tasked with surveying the areas affected by the fires and determining which trees presented imminent hazards. At the time, fires still burned throughout Northern California. Because of the dangerous conditions, safety precautions required that everyone work in pairs, increasing time spent in the field.
DRG employees worked seven days a week, inspecting each tree at least three or four times. Accurately identifying dangerous trees was critical, as many trees were in neighborhoods and around people. DRG employees’ due diligence paid off, as many trees that passed the first inspection were later found hazardous. For example, some of the fires that ripped through the area were very low, so the trees would appear healthy at the top, but weeks later, another inspection would show that the fire had scorched the roots and the tree would be entirely brown.
DRG employees were stationed at base camp and performed tree inspections throughout the affected areas for about five weeks. After base camp was broken down, wildfire management was ongoing, but on a smaller scale. Davey is proud to have been a part of the containment efforts and will continue to deliver unmatched excellence to our clients in Northern California.
“[The work] was emotionally heavy because this wasn’t just fire burning in desolate areas, this was fire ripping through people’s neighborhoods and causing massive devastation. We were dealing with people who had just lost everything.” Jonah Schwartz, project coordinator, Davey Resource Group

DRG Assists with Napa Wildfire Response

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

Close Call Communicator

In 2017, we implemented our Electronic Close Call Communicator, making it easier than ever to report and debrief close call incidents and build tools and tactics for prevention. Accessible through a mobile app, the Close Call Communicator creates a company-wide platform for safety communication. Davey employees have reported more than 500 close calls using the new system, tripling the number reported last year.
The Close Call Communicator also provides a further mechanism for us to analyze safety trends over time. These data enable us to proactively address potential safety risks to prevent injury or property damage.
Building on the Close Call Communicator, we plan to integrate electronic incident reporting with field and motor safety observations into our risk management system. These combined efforts serve to improve the holistic management of safety across our operations. By examining data over time, Davey will see trends and use them to inform preemptive actions that will drive us forward on the Road to Zero.“With hundreds of reported close calls, we can now look at data trends more specifically. Sharing these data across our operations will help our field employees anticipate and manage hazards.” Joe Tommasi, vice president of corporate safety

Close Call Communicator

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Davey Crew Prevents Potential Wildfire

Three Davey employees stopped a small wildfire from spreading in the Hat Creek area of Shasta County, California—located in high-risk Northern California. In 2017, the region recorded six wildfires that destroyed more than 40,000 acres in 2017.
While volunteering for a Saturday shift, the crew spotted the brush fire on the side of the highway encircling a large pine tree. After calling Cal Fire and 911, the crew grabbed the basic firefighting tools equipped on Davey trucks—a shovel, a spade with a 4-foot handle, a 5-gallon water backpack sprayer, a fire extinguisher and a McLeod tool—and set to work.
Foreman Jose Vargas and climbers Tony Aitkin and Christopher McCarley cut a fire line to prevent the fire from spreading, knocked the flames down using the sprayer, and then monitored the fire until local firefighters arrived. Davey’s regional safety managers conduct regular fire safety refresher courses with crews for these exact scenarios—the crew did a fantastic job!
“Davey crews aren’t firemen, but they know enough that if an incident happened in the field, they have the equipment to take care of themselves and suppress a small fire.” Dave Handt, regional safety manager

Davey Crew Prevents Potential Wildfire

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A ‘Handy’ Safety Reminder From Your Family

“My wife and my kids are everything,” Fred Allison, a senior foreman at Wolf Tree, Inc., a Davey company, said. “They’re why I’m here working. It’s all for them.” Throughout the day, Allison thinks of them often. In fact, each time he looks down at his gloves he sees his wife’s name. “When I look at my gloves and see her name, it reminds me to do it the right, safe way. Then, you can go home to your family and the people that you love at the end of the day,” Allison said.
When Michael McCollum had the idea for this new safety initiative, that’s exactly what he was hoping would happen. McCollum had supervisors gather their crews and review the last two safety incidents. Then, each employee got a pair of gloves and wrote the name of their loved ones across them. They were encouraged to think about those names when they’re working and how those people would be affected if anything happened on the job.
“A lot of the guys thanked us for taking the time out to do something like this. When you stop production for 30 minutes, it shows how important it is,” McCollum said. “It also shows we care.” Allison agreed. “The company is all about family,” he said. “When I see names on my employees’ gloves, I ask who that is. You get to know the man or woman you’re working with. You can relate to them and their family. It makes me want to do everything right so that they can go home to their family, too.” Allison knows it’s not just about himself at work. It’s about keeping each member of his crew safe as well.
When we all look out for each other like family, everyone wins.

A ‘Handy’ Safety Reminder From Your Family

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Emphasis on Safety

Many employees at Davey wear different hats during the work day. But for eight Utility accounts in Pennsylvania, the employees there literally wear a different color on their hardhat to represent their strong commitment to safety.
Bill Bunker, area manager, Utility services, got together with Jason Henry, area supervisor, Utility services, and Roy Montan, senior regional safety specialist, corporate safety department, and brainstormed a way to emphasize safety for Bunker and Henry’s crews.
As a result, they developed a pilot safety program on the FirstEnergy account in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to test their new idea and see if it could be expanded to other crews.
Henry said they decided that each week one member of the crew would wear a mesh wrap on their hardhat. The wrap changes the color of their Davey hardhat to a bright, fluorescent green and orange color.
So far, the program has performed well. The pilot program’s success means it is now being expanded to several other accounts under Bunker. The program has expanded to the United Electric and Central Electric accounts, along with several other FirstEnergy accounts, and now includes about 140 total Davey employees.

“The idea behind this was to have an extra set of eyes, in addition to the crew foreman, who’s watching out for the entire crew’s safety. They work on the ground and just act as another line of defense for the whole team.”Jason Henry, area supervisor, Utility services

Emphasis on Safety

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

DRG Provides Educational Support for Client

Jim Jenkins, senior project manager, Davey Resource Group (DRG), worked with the North Detroit R/C office to provide a tree climbing safety presentation for the Department of Public Works (DPW) in Ferndale, Michigan.
The DRG natural resource consulting team in Michigan works with the city of Ferndale on a four-phase tree inventory to collect data for the DPW to promote their urban forest and prioritize tree work. DRG has a second consulting contract with the city through which Jenkins supplies various training sessions, including a tree climbing safety training.
Josh Leo, district manager, and Jake Swearingen, sales representative, North Detroit R/C office, talked with the staff about climbing and chainsaw safety.

“We are giving a baseline understanding of what tree climbing involves, including the equipment and the safety precautions in hopes that they might incorporate some of those requirements into their requests for proposal.”Jim Jenkins, senior project manager, Davey Resource Group

DRG Provides Educational Support for Client

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SAFE BUSINESS PRACTICES

Davey Wins Three Safety Awards from TCIA

The Davey Tree Expert Company was awarded three Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) Safety Awards for 2018.
Davey won two Outstanding Individual/Crew Performance safety awards. These awards recognize “an individual's or crew's heroic reaction to an emergency situation,” according to the TCIA website.
The winners of these awards were Amador Reyes, Jr., foreman, Eastern Utility services, and Matthew Shepherd, pictured, ecosystems specialist, Wetland Studies and Solutions, a Davey company. Reyes won for helping residents in Panama City, Florida, change a tire so they could continue to bring aid to their community after Hurricane Michael. Shepherd and his crew were recognized for noticing a fire had started in a townhouse unit near their work site and alerting the neighbors of the fire. Due to their quick action, no one was injured in the fire.
The third award was an Outstanding Company Contribution safety award, which recognizes a TCIA member's proactive program to address safety issues. Davey won for the Safety Mentor-Regional Level Initiative, with special recognition going to Bill Bunker, area manager, Eastern Utility services, and Randy Palmer, regional safety specialist. This local, crew-level initiative was developed to improve safety performance and engagement.

Davey Wins Three Safety Awards from TCIA

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Utility Arborists Talk Safety

The Utility Arborists Association (UAA) Oklahoma Safety Summit covered topics ranging from gear inspections to customer interactions, emergency responses and other situations. But, the real goal of the summit was giving field personnel the opportunity to discuss these various safety topics amongst peers.
Davey’s Tim Walsh, safety manager, corporate safety department, and UAA board of directors’ member, said attendees are intentionally broken up into discussion groups whose participants may include a CEO of a company or a crew leader to aid in a diverse discussion.
Davey sent several employees to the summit from the Oklahoma Gas & Electric account, and Walsh was one of the introductory presenters during the summit. He spoke about industry fatality statistics, changes in the OSHA standards and changes in the ANSI Z133 standards.
The Davey Tree Surgery Company and the Davey Resource Group served as gold level sponsors of the event.

Utility Arborists Talk Safety

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Davey Surgery Holds Fire Safety Meeting

Every year at the start of fire season, all field level managers and senior managers from the Davey Tree Surgery Company meet in California to discuss the Davey Fire Plan and fire prevention.
Before the meeting, the fire plan is reviewed and goals for improvement are made, said Bill Heriford, operations manager, the Davey Tree Surgery Company.
“This year, all field level managers were requested to go through the Factors and Forces courses online prior to fire season,” Heriford said.
The Forces and Factors course was developed by the Davey Institute and the corporate safety department. This course teaches participants a straightforward, efficient way to determine the risks related to climbing or working in, on or near a tree.

Davey Surgery Holds Fire Safety Meeting

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Who Reminds You to Work Safely

This is why you are safe. The tens of thousands of decisions you make each day at work is all for them – the people you return home to after you clock out.
From here on out, that will be easier than ever to remember. This year, Davey rolled out “This is Why I’m Safe” photo frames that can stick to nearly any surface.
“These are about making safety personal and putting a face on the issue,” said Tim Walsh, director, corporate safety department. “I have a photo of my niece in mine. Every time I take off my helmet, I see her looking back at me and know I need to make good decisions.”
That’s the goal. Every time you make a choice during the day, you’ll see their faces and remember why it’s worth spending the time to do the task the right, safe way.

“Being safe is about making good decisions, whether you’re at work, at home, in your car, anywhere. All of our safety initiatives tie back into helping and reminding every employee why they need to make good, safe decisions all day long.”Tim Walsh, director of corporate safety

Who Reminds You to Work Safely

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Fire-Fighting Effort Earns Award

Dan Defelice, a UVM specialist, San Diego Gas & Electric account, Davey Resource Group, was traveling to the office when he noticed a fire with billowing smoke on the side of the highway.
Defelice speedily dialed 911, only to hear a blaring busy signal. Knowing he had a backpack-style fire pump, Defelice sprang into action and put his fire training to use. He knew the fire was still small enough that he could work to put it out safely.
Defelice hoped he could stop it from spreading. Instead, he put the fire out from a safe distance within a few minutes.
“You can always do something to help. Just stay calm, step up and do what you gotta do.” Dan Defelice, UVM specialist, San Diego Gas & Electric account, Davey Resource Group

Fire-Fighting Effort Earns Award

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A Culture of Safety

The crews on the Newberry Electric Co-Op account in Newberry, South Carolina have gone 3,200 days without an OSHA recordable incident by mixing dedication and comradery. In 2007, Davey’s Newberry account work group started keeping track of the days they worked incident free with a sign on the gate to their yard. As the count continues to grow, their sense of pride and a desire to reach the next milestone becomes stronger.
Kenny Rowe, senior regional safety specialist and former supervisor of the Newberry account, said reaching this milestone proves you can get production done while focusing on safety. Johnny Wilson, manager, field safety support, said Davey’s Road to Zero program, the goal of zero incidents, is creating a safety culture. The leadership has changed, but the culture of caring for each other remains, “Chris (Scott) has done a fantastic job keeping it going,” Rowe said. “One crew member’s goal is to retire with no incidents,” Scott said. “Everybody has their own personal goals for safety.” Scott’s advice for others looking to reach this milestone is to “listen to what they have to say and take it to heart.”
One key to achieving such success is strong safety leadership, employees tend to model how their supervisors perform.

“The kind of work we do is very hazardous, so a lot of people said it couldn’t be done. We’ve shown that clearly it’s possible, but it’s a long road.”Chris Scott, general foreman on the Newberry account

A Culture of Safety

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Planting a Tree Tradition in Rochester

For their 16th Annual Arbor Day Celebration, Rochester Parks and Recreation teamed up with Maier Tree and Lawn, a Davey company, to celebrate trees. At Silver Lake Park, more than 1,700 kids gathered to celebrate trees and learn about the importance of trees and their benefits. Maier Tree handed out bur oak and sugar maple saplings, which are trees native to the Rochester area.
Maier Tree and Lawn also celebrated Arbor Day by participating in the RneighborWoods community tree planting event. An annual event, volunteers from throughout Rochester come out to plant trees throughout their community. Since the first community tree planting event in 2004, volunteers have planted more than 7,250 trees in celebration of Arbor Day.

Planting a Tree Tradition in Rochester

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Continuing Education at Davey

The Davey Institute provides employees opportunities to earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to maintain their International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist® accreditation through online courses. The Davey Institute website for education and training allows employees to access a variety of extension lessons on subjects such as tree care and lawn care.
All tree-related lessons have been approved for ISA re-certification credits, and many states have approved Davey’s courses for state pesticide applicator CEU credits. Providing continuing education opportunities and resources to our employees is just one way we foster personal and professional development and create pathways for growth and career advancement at Davey.

Continuing Education at Davey

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Giving Back to Giving Trees

It’s only polite to say thank you when receiving a gift! This Arbor Day, DRG employees in Missouri showed gratitude to trees by participating in several events throughout the surrounding Twin Oak community. From planting, climbing and pruning, to engaging students and professionals in a variety of arboricultural processes, Missouri DRG embraced the importance of Arbor Day.
To get a wholesome education during Arbor Day, local students spent a school day in a different classroom: nature’s classroom. Throughout each activity, Missouri DRG employees shared their knowledge of tree care with participating students. Applying this knowledge outside of the classroom created an impactful Arbor Day experience for each student.
During the Arbor Day festivities for professionals, DRG employees educated attendees on how to use TreeKeeper8 inventory software effectively and highlighted helpful features. This was an opportunity to train partners on ways to develop proactive maintenance plans and demonstrate promoting tree benefits to the public.
By engaging several different groups in their local community, Missouri DRG employees were able to make an unforgettable impact for Arbor Day 2018.

Giving Back to Giving Trees

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Fire-Fighting Effort Earns Award

Dan Defelice, a UVM specialist, San Diego Gas & Electric account, Davey Resource Group, was traveling to the office when he noticed a fire with billowing smoke on the side of the highway.
Defelice speedily dialed 911, only to hear a blaring busy signal. Knowing he had a backpack-style fire pump, Defelice sprang into action and put his fire training to use. He knew the fire was still small enough that he could work to put it out safely.
Defelice hoped he could stop it from spreading. Instead, he put the fire out from a safe distance within a few minutes.
“You can always do something to help. Just stay calm, step up and do what you gotta do.” Dan Defelice, UVM specialist, San Diego Gas & Electric account, Davey Resource Group

Fire-Fighting Effort Earns Award

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Davey Supports High School Arboriculture Program

High school students studying arboriculture are getting some brand-new, professional grade climbing equipment thanks to support from Davey.
Davey made a $10,000 donation to the arboriculture program at Theodore Roosevelt High School, located next to the corporate campus. The money, along with a $5,000 grant from the TREE Fund, will pay for the purchase of 15 new sets of climbing gear, which includes ropes, harnesses, lanyards and carabiners.
The program is part of a six-district compact which includes students from across Northeast Ohio. Students in the program have worked alongside Davey employees, including at The John Davey Arboretum, to learn proper pruning and other tree care methods.

Davey Supports High School Arboriculture Program

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Nearly 400 Davey Employees Earn Factors and Forces ‘Diploma’

Close to 400 Davey employees attended and “graduated” from Factors and Forces training courses in 2018.
The training program, implemented in 2018, provides instruction on tree risk assessment. Attendees are taught to determine the risks associated with working in, on or near a tree in a straightforward and efficient manner using terminology printed on custom work gloves.
The Factors and Forces gloves, which are only available to employees who attend and pass the course, feature the five factors that can cause strength loss in a tree and the forces that can alter those factors – such as weak branch attachment or decay being impacted by wind or ice, causing a failure. The work gloves are considered the diploma for participants and are awarded upon completion.
R.J. Laverne, manager of education and training, Davey Institute, traveled across the U.S. in 2018 to facilitate 11 instructor-led sessions, which typically grouped together employees from multiple Residential/Commercial offices. Sessions were also held for employees in Eastern Utility services and Davey Resource Group.
In addition to the 378 graduates of the instructor-led program several more employees completed the digital course available online through the Davey Learning Management System.
“I encourage people who attend the program to offer their ideas, criticisms and input. The only way to evolve and improve the program is to continually get the knowledge, insight and experience of people who have that knowledge of climbing, rigging, roping and generally working in trees. That’s why we built the program.”RJ Laverne, manager of education and training, Davey Institute

Nearly 400 Davey Employees Earn Factors and Forces ‘Diploma’

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Room to Grow

In May 2017, Davey acquired 170 acres of land across the street from our corporate headquarters in Kent, Ohio. The abundance of trees and green space, diverse topography and proximity to our current corporate offices provides Davey ample opportunity for capability and facility expansion.
Known as the Davey East Campus, the property could also include additional office space for our corporate functions. The property offers a variety of areas for showcasing many of Davey’s diverse services, such as wetland management around the Cuyahoga River, golf course maintenance expertise or our core tree services.
Davey has a long history of research and training in the Kent area, and this property will allow our integrated teams of plant, soil and insect scientists, computer specialists and horticulture and arboriculture researchers to work together in state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor laboratories.
“I think we have to be thoughtful about where we continue to grow. There’s tremendous opportunities to continue to grow, but we want to make sure we do it in a strategic way.” Pat Covey, president and chief executive officer

Room to Grow

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Expanding the Davey Tree Family

The Davey Tree Expert Company proudly welcomed two companies into our family of brands in 2017: Arborguard, a residential and commercial tree care company based in Atlanta, with operations in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Arborel Tree Service, a residential tree and lawn care company operating in Pittsburgh.
Since 1981, Arborguard Tree Specialists have provided tree and plant health care services to residential and commercial clients in the Southeast, including some of the region’s prestigious golf courses and resorts. The late Spence Rosenfeld, owner and founder of Arborguard, saw the partnership with Davey as a natural fit given Davey’s reputation for integrity, innovation and leadership and its focus on safety and environmental stewardship.
Since 2001, Arborel Tree Service provided specialized tree and plant health care services, lawn fertilization and pest management to clients in the greater Pittsburgh area. Arborel’s founder, Robert Kruljac, and employees looked forward to joining the culture of employee ownership and appreciated the shared passion for high-quality client service.
“Arborguard and Arborel are welcome additions to the Davey Family. Like Davey, they both provide excellent tree care while concentrating on client experience and quality control.” Jim Stief, executive vice president, U.S. Residential Operations

Expanding the Davey Tree Family

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

A Community Torn By Tragedy Starts Healing Through Green Space

In a city full of concrete and casinos, the people and city of Las Vegas turned their energies to creating a community healing garden, as a memorial to those who lost their lives in a tragic mass shooting in October. Matt Haro, district manager of the Las Vegas Residential/Commercial office, and a crew from his office volunteered for the following two days at the memorial garden doing anything that was needed. The vision of the garden was for 59 trees to be planted, one for each individual who lost their life that tragic evening at a concert on the Las Vegas Strip. The trees line a winding path through the garden, and at the heart of it is a grand oak tree surrounded by a heart-shaped bench. Also, in the garden is a wall of remembrance for visitors to leave a note. The garden was completed in 48 hours. After all the trees were planted, Haro sent a spray technician to the site to fertilize the trees and help them get off to a healthy start.
In addition to the work on the Healing Garden, the Davey Company donated to a fund, which directly supported funeral costs of those who lost their lives in the Las Vegas tragedy and health care expenses for those who were severely injured.

“It was pretty amazing to see the way the Las Vegas community came together during this time. Whether it was volunteering to work on the garden, repeatedly standing in long lines to donate blood, or donating money, everyone wanted to help, including our entire office.”Matt Haro, district manager, Las Vegas R/C office

A Community Torn By Tragedy Starts Healing Through Green Space

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Davey Wins Three Safety Awards from TCIA

The Davey Tree Expert Company was awarded three Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) Safety Awards for 2018.
Davey won two Outstanding Individual/Crew Performance safety awards. These awards recognize “an individual's or crew's heroic reaction to an emergency situation,” according to the TCIA website.
The winners of these awards were Amador Reyes, Jr., foreman, Eastern Utility services, and Matthew Shepherd, pictured, ecosystems specialist, Wetland Studies and Solutions, a Davey company. Reyes won for helping residents in Panama City, Florida, change a tire so they could continue to bring aid to their community after Hurricane Michael. Shepherd and his crew were recognized for noticing a fire had started in a townhouse unit near their work site and alerting the neighbors of the fire. Due to their quick action, no one was injured in the fire.
The third award was an Outstanding Company Contribution safety award, which recognizes a TCIA member's proactive program to address safety issues. Davey won for the Safety Mentor-Regional Level Initiative, with special recognition going to Bill Bunker, area manager, Eastern Utility services, and Randy Palmer, regional safety specialist. This local, crew-level initiative was developed to improve safety performance and engagement.

Davey Wins Three Safety Awards from TCIA

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

A Davey Legacy Built on Science

The Davey Institute of Tree Sciences (D.I.T.S.) welcomed 51 Davey employees from across North America to our annual month-long, hands-on course. Employees with varying levels of experience and education participate in this intense experience to learn decades of tree care knowledge in just four weeks. For example, identifying tree and plant problems is a difficult skill to master for many D.I.T.S. students, especially if they do not deal with tree biology in their daily work. But, learning this skill will help keep employees safe on the job, particularly when working with dead or dying trees on utility rights-of-way.
The D.I.T.S. legacy of educating generations of Davey’s finest tree care professionals spans more than a century, and we are proud of the 51 graduates that will carry on this legacy into the future.
“Diagnosing trees and infestations tested me the most, but this is why I wanted to come to D.I.T.S. I wanted to get a better handle on that kind of stuff and make me ultimately more effective in my role as a manager. The more well-rounded I can be, the better.” Kyle Wilson, district manager, North Muskoka, Ontario, Canada

A Davey Legacy Built on Science

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Supporting Summer Camp for Underprivileged Youth

For the third year in a row, Davey participated in the annual Christie Lake Kids Camp cleanup day. Hydro Ottawa, a longtime client, has been involved in this project for several years and invited to Davey to join in on the community outreach. Christie Lake Kids Camp is specifically designed to meet the needs of children from low-income families throughout the Ottawa area. While it includes all the fun outdoor activities of your typical summer camp, their curriculum emphasizes developing the campers physical and social skills during a two-week stay.
The annual cleanup day is all about getting the camp ready for the kids to enjoy throughout the summer. Davey donated a day of work, a bucket truck and six employees. The day was spent removing dead and hazardous trees, pruning vegetation around power lines and clearing some of the trails for hiking.

Supporting Summer Camp for Underprivileged Youth

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Teaching Tricks of the Tree Trade

When you share your passion, you create a spark in someone else. That’s what happened when Joe Pomeisl, sales arborist, New Jersey Residential/Commercial office, began working with Rick Close, who at the time was the office’s district manager.
“Rick was like a mentor to me when I started at Davey,” Pomeisl said. “Without him, my passion could have been just climbing – not trees.”
Pomeisl keeps in touch with Close, who is now an adjunct instructor at the County College of Morris. This past December, Close asked Pomeisl to present a hands-on training session about tree care safety to the college’s arboriculture students. To illustrate, Pomeisl narrated the process while his coworker Vince Peters, trimmer, demoed the techniques. Together, they shared the proper steps to prepare for climbing – from setting up the job to using the bucket truck and chipper safely.
“Both gentlemen represented the Davey Company in an extremely professional manner, were polite, humorous and very accommodating to questions by the students,” Close wrote in a thank you letter. Already, Close and Pomeisl are talking about doing this on a more regular basis.
“Doing training and educational sessions like this is beneficial. It shows Davey’s commitment to training and development,” Pomeisl said.
Pomeisl acknowledged his successful presentation was because of Davey’s investment in his education. Since joining Davey, Pomeisl graduated from the Davey Institute of Tree Sciences and became an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist®. Now, Pomeisl wants to share his experience at Davey and showcase potential careers in our industry.
“I hope the students learned that it’s okay to work with your hands and make an honest living by a trade,” Pomeisl said. “I used my passion to instill passion in others, and it felt great to teach people about what you love to do.”

Teaching Tricks of the Tree Trade

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

New Age Communications Construction Joins Davey Resource Group

Davey Resource Group, Inc. (DRG), a subsidiary of The Davey Tree Expert Company, acquired the assets of New Age Communications Construction, LLC, (NACC), a telecommunications construction firm based in Cincinnati, Ohio. NACC provides fiber construction, small cell deployment and cable maintenance and construction services for the telecommunications industry in parts of the Northeast, Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Scott Carlin, vice president, asset management services, DRG, said “we look forward to providing the experienced and committed employees of NACC with the opportunity to grow their careers in a culture that is supported by all the benefits of employee-ownership.“The construction, installation and maintenance services expertise of NACC further enhances our ability to provide clients a single-source to deploy fiber and wireless infrastructure. The strength of DRG has always been our commitment to meeting clients’ needs. With the addition of NACC, we are structured to support our clients’ demand for a streamlined process to 5G deployment.”

Scott Carlin, vice president, asset management services, DRG

New Age Communications Construction Joins Davey Resource Group

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Davey Launches Green Leaders Program

Davey has a long-standing tradition of helping the communities where we live and work, and giving back in a meaningful way has always been important to its employees. With these ideas in mind, the Davey Green Leaders program was created and officially launched in 2018. The program supports employees’ passions and desires to help others as well as any activities or initiatives that promote trees, sustainable landscapes and the environment. It also asks that they log those volunteer hours so we can have a comprehensive view of the many ways Davey and its employees are helping to grow a better future for our communities. With over 19,000 submitted volunteer hours for approximately 600 different organizations, the program’s first year was a success.
Ian Johnston of DRG Canada, who volunteered more than 900 hours and had the highest recorded amount for 2018 says, “Helping others brings great satisfaction and is a way I can make a small contribution towards the betterment of society.”

Davey Launches Green Leaders Program

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Davey Coordinates Day of Service

Highfield Hall celebrated Arbor Day for the first time in a decade, thanks to the help of Davey. Steven Mercer, a sales arborist at Davey's Cape Cod Residential/Commercial office, helped to coordinate the day of service. Highfield Hall is a restored Cape Cod estate used as center of cultural and community life. Davey employees provided services such as pruning, tree-removal and stump grinding.
Mercer recruited local tree companies to join Davey in the day of service, and more than $6,000 worth of tree services were donated to Highfield Hall. The services were vital to honor the hall’s historic trees and plant the next generation.

“It was a great day made even better by your expert help. We likely would have had to expend several hundred if not thousands of dollars for what you gave as an in-kind contribution. These are dollars saved, which we are able to apply directly to support the programs and services we provide in our community."Peter Franklin, executive director of Highfield Hall

Davey Coordinates Day of Service

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Davey Institute Expands Company Training Courses

The inaugural session of the Davey Institute of Utility Sciences (D.I.U.S.) convened at the Davey Institute to elevate the knowledge and capabilities of managers working in Utility services.
Anand Persad, manager, arboriculture and plant sciences, said D.I.U.S. is designed specifically to help employees in Utility services learn how best to address the needs of their clients, communities and coworkers.
Some aspects of the program included tree biomechanics, work planning, safety, technology implementation, environmental stewardship and social media awareness.
Students experienced a variety of hands-on lessons. In a safety exercise, students identified safety hazards or failures on 42 different pieces of equipment. In another lesson, students developed a work plan for a right-of-way. In another, students were called on to demonstrate the company’s hazardous spill procedures.

“This new program is intended to bring our mid-level management in Utility operations, our general foremen and up, up to speed on what the utility clients we serve see as emerging opportunities for expanding Davey’s service offerings.” Anand Persad, manager, arboriculture and plant sciences

Davey Institute Expands Company Training Courses

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Elizabeth River Landscape Management Joins Davey

Elizabeth River Landscape Management, a commercial landscape company based in Suffolk, Virginia, has joined The Davey Tree Expert Company family of brands. Elizabeth River Landscape Management provides specialized commercial landscape management services in addition to irrigation, landscape installation, tree care, snow removal and emergency response.
“Elizabeth River is excited to join Davey for many reasons. Most importantly, we value their commitment and enthusiasm toward honesty, customer service and high-quality full-service landscape and tree care,” said Jason Fawcett, CEO, Elizabeth River Lawn and Landscape, Inc. “With Davey, not only will our employees have additional career and training opportunities, but they will also have the opportunity to participate in Davey’s employee-ownership program.”
Dan Joy, executive vice president and general manager, commercial services, said Davey is excited to welcome the talented and client-focused employees of Elizabeth River Landscape Management.
“Elizabeth River Landscape Management is a commercial landscape company with a great reputation and this change allows their clients to experience Davey’s diversified service offerings in this area,” said Joy. “Clients will still see the same focus on exceptional service, but also now have access to Davey’s technology and equipment, and research and development capabilities provided by the Davey Institute.”
Based in Suffolk, Virginia, Elizabeth River Landscape Management has 130 employees at additional locations in Virginia Beach, Yorktown and Richmond, Virginia, operating a total five territories.

Elizabeth River Landscape Management Joins Davey

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Supporting Wounded Vets

Picture this; 70 acres of beach-style adventure camp with rope courses, lakeside trails, and physical fitness activities ranging from swimming and wakeboarding to archery and putt-putt. So cool! But, what’s even better is this adventure wonderland is designed specifically to welcome everyone -- wounded veterans, families of the fallen and adults and children with disabilities or special needs.
Camp Grom is a dream that came to life through the fundraising efforts of The Virginia Gentlemen Foundation.
The Foundation is a collective group of business owners and individuals with clout in the community who decided to pool their resources to help families affected by disabilities in the Virginia Beach area. Jason Fawcett, regional manager for Elizabeth River Landscape Management, a Davey company, is a member of the Foundation.
Elizabeth River Landscape Management, a Davey company, donated about 30 days of work to the initial landscape care for the camp.
“All of this is a reminder of what good can come out of something so bad. When we started talking about Camp Grom I knew this was a project that I wanted Elizabeth River to contribute to. The nature of it provided the perfect opportunity for us to step up and contribute our expertise.”Jason Fawcett, regional manager for Elizabeth River Landscape Management, a Davey company

Supporting Wounded Vets

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

A Day to Celebrate!

The city of Davis, California, had a great reason to celebrate Arbor Day 2018. Preparing to receive its 40th consecutive award for being a Tree City USA, Davey Resource Group (DRG) helped the Davis community honor their trees.
DRG’s Anne Fenkner presented a nearby municipality's urban forest master plan to share goals for the continued growth of Davis’ urban forest. At the event, DRG brought games including cornhole and a “what’s inside?” box, inviting kids to discover more about trees. In the spirit of St. Patty’s Day, DRG provided Davey Doubloons, a souvenir from this fun-filled day.
Providing fun and games, DRG helped the City of Davis to celebrate their love of trees.

A Day to Celebrate!

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Davey Wins Three TCIA Communications Awards

The Davey Tree Expert Company was awarded three 2017 Professional Communications Awards from the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA).
More than 20 years old, this program honors marketing and communication excellence within the tree care industry. Davey won two first-place awards, and a third-place in three separate categories: flyer/ad/postcard, digital/social media and website.
The Economic Benefits of Trees bookmark was awarded first place in the flyer/ad/postcard category. The bookmark embraces awareness of trees by illustrating 10 ways trees give back to us economically, and was handed out to attendees at several different conferences.
Davey’s Mannequin Challenge video took the first-place award in the digital/social media category. The video joined in on a fun, current social media trend and celebrated the more than 50 employees who took part in the 2017 Davey Institute of Tree Sciences (D.I.T.S.) intensive month-long training program.
The Davey Blog was awarded third place in the website category. The blog is a digital library of educational content answering real questions with clear advice and tips from professional arborists.

“The TCIA Communication Awards are an exciting opportunity to showcase some of the work our team is most proud of, and we are grateful to receive these awards. Beginning the year with this recognition within the industry gives us a great start to create more fun and effective communication pieces in 2018.”Sandra Reid, vice president, Davey corporate communications and strategic planning administration

Davey Wins Three TCIA Communications Awards

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Bringing Fruit Trees to Ronald McDonald House

For Arbor Day, the sales management team from Davey’s San Diego R/C office helped bring some joy to children staying at Ronald McDonald House.
Daniel Kump, district manager, Ian Campbell, assistant district manager, and Matt Kirk, sales arborist, volunteered their time to plant two fruit trees in the house’s edible garden. The kids loved the trees so much that they named one “Lily the Lemon Tree” and the other “Chad the Guava Tree,” Campbell said. “They really loved digging in the dirt, planting them and putting rocks around them from the nearby other gardens to make them look special,” he said. “Lots of smiles and happy faces.”
At first, the Davey team hadn’t planned to do aftercare on the tree, but that quickly changed.
“Then we saw the reaction of the kids, the joy it brought them and how much ownership they were taking of them,” Campbell said. “They made us want to go the extra step to continue caring for the trees.”

Bringing Fruit Trees to Ronald McDonald House

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Davey Women Growing Stronger Together

In a male-dominated industry, three female employees of the Davey Resource Group (DRG) united at an event created by women climbers for women climbers. They learned about climbing equipment and techniques at the Western Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture’s three-day workshop.
Jenn Mahley, senior consulting utility forester, DRG; Jillian Keller, consulting utility forester, DRG and Jessika Mitchell, associate consultant, DRG, comprised nearly 20 percent of the event’s attendees. They learned climbing and safety skills- everything from planning a route and inspecting gear to tying knots and throwing lines.
“Not only was I excited about learning how to climb,” Mahley said, “but I knew that it would also improve my skill set and advance my career.”
In the past year, Mahley completed this workshop and also became an ISA Certified Arborist® and ISA Arborist Utility Specialist™. For Mahley, investing in industry education worked. She got promoted after a year because of her dedication. If you’re contemplating investing the time or money in training, Mahley advises taking the leap.

Davey Women Growing Stronger Together

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Davey Establishes Educational Endowment for TREE Fund

The Davey Tree Expert Company proudly pledged a $250,000 educational endowment fund through TREE Fund. The Davey Fund supports community-based arboricultural education in the United States. Davey Tree has a history of supporting TREE Fund’s dedication to furthering scientific discovery and research in the field of arboriculture and has given more than $500,000 in donations and in-kind gifts over the last 15 years.
TREE Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to supporting scientific discovery and dissemination of new knowledge in the fields of arboriculture and urban forestry. Its primary public outreach and fundraising event is the green industry renowned Tour des Trees, an annual weeklong, 500+ mile cycling adventure. Since 1992 Tour riders have cycled through communities in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., planting trees, educating children and shining a light on the work done by arboriculture professionals and the importance of science-based tree care.
Davey’s pledge of $250,000 over five years will be allocated directly to the funding of scientific research on urban tree care issues and community-based education.

“As the Davey Company continues to evolve and grow, it’s increasingly important that we invest in research that will advance not only our company, but the industry that we are so proud to be part of. With the establishment of the Davey Fund, we strengthen our long-time commitment to TREE Fund and its mission to support arboricultural research. This endowment fund is a reflection of our employee-owners’ dedication to continued education and the advancement of arboriculture throughout our industry.”Pat Covey, president and CEO of Davey Tree

Davey Establishes Educational Endowment for TREE Fund

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ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

Davey Ranked 12th Largest Employee-Owned Company

The Davey Tree Expert Company is the 12th largest employee-owned company in the U.S., according to the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO). The list shows Davey’s growth as the company moved from the 13th largest company in 2017 to the 12th largest in 2018.
The NCEO’s 2018 Employee Ownership 100 list includes the nation’s largest companies that are majority owned by an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) or other broad-based employee ownership plan.
Davey employs over 9,500 people and has been employee-owned since 1979 when employees successfully bought the company from the family of its founder, John Davey.

“Our 9,500 dedicated employees continue to be trusted advisors and service providers to our clients, leading to tremendous opportunities for growth for our company and employee owners. A relentless focus on the strength and development of our employees is the driving force behind our success and strong performance.”Pat Covey, Davey’s President and CEO

Davey Ranked 12th Largest Employee-Owned Company

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Bee Hive Thrives In New Home

While helping Refuge of Hope Ministries in Canton, Ohio, clear a lot for their expansion project, a crew from the Canton R/C office found a large honey bee nest in one of the trees.
“We run into hornet and yellow jackets nests in the field, but it’s not often we encounter honey bees,” said Jeffrey Wernet, district manager.
Crew members Steve Barchalk, foreman, Mike Ellis, foreman, and Jeremy Baker, trimmer, felled one of the last remaining trees on the lot. That’s when they discovered a honey bee nest about 14 to 15 feet up inside the tree.
Barchalk called Mueller Honey Bee Rescue, a local beekeeper, to see if they wanted to keep the bees and they did, Wernet said. The crew cut the portion of the log containing the nest and helped load it on a trailer.
The nest was removed from the tree and is now living inside a beehive. On the last warm day of 2018, the bees were still alive, and Mueller Honey Bee Rescue anticipates they will make it to spring.
“With all of this talk over the last couple of years about the honey bee populations declining, nobody wants to see a hive die out. I’m glad our crew had the mindset to do something to preserve the hive.”Jeff Wernet, district manager, Canton R/C office

Bee Hive Thrives In New Home

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Fire-Fighting Effort Earns Award

Dan Defelice, a UVM specialist, San Diego Gas & Electric account, Davey Resource Group, was traveling to the office when he noticed a fire with billowing smoke on the side of the highway.
Defelice speedily dialed 911, only to hear a blaring busy signal. Knowing he had a backpack-style fire pump, Defelice sprang into action and put his fire training to use. He knew the fire was still small enough that he could work to put it out safely.
Defelice hoped he could stop it from spreading. Instead, he put the fire out from a safe distance within a few minutes.
“You can always do something to help. Just stay calm, step up and do what you gotta do.” Dan Defelice, UVM specialist, San Diego Gas & Electric account, Davey Resource Group

Fire-Fighting Effort Earns Award

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Planting the Future

Trees are treasured creatures for all ages, but there is something special about the view of trees through children’s eyes. The Kent State Child Development Center expressed an interest in adding a tree near the playground area for the children to read under, play around and learn about, and Davey jumped on the opportunity to provide the gift of a tree to local children. After donating a large red maple and handling the planting and mulching, Davey received the following sweet note from the students along with a photo and painting.
“This is Ari. She noticed the new tree by the playground and spent her entire time outside playing around it. She and her classmates were thinking of some ideas about the tree. They think it will get leaves in the summer. They think it will grow really big. They thought they should name it. They circled around it and sang happy birthday to it. They thought it would be great to make decorations and put on it.”

Planting the Future

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

WSSI Teaches Water Management

In mid-2017, Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. (WSSI), a Davey company, hosted a delegation from China at its LEED® certified headquarters to discuss stormwater management. The group comprised of 19 government officials from the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Department of Shandong Province.
Local government officials from Prince William County, Virginia, approached WSSI to share their experience and expertise in water management. The visitors toured WSSI’s office, which incorporates numerous stormwater management techniques, including a green roof. Next, the group saw several nearby stormwater management project sites in the Gainesville, Virginia, area.
During the tours, the Chinese delegation observed various methods of stormwater management, such as stormwater harvesting—the practice of collecting and reusing rain water runoff.

WSSI Teaches Water Management

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Spreading Mulch and Tree Love

Tallahassee, Florida, celebrated the state’s Arbor Day this year by planting 185 trees throughout Apalachee Regional Park. More than 100 volunteers stepped out to reconnect with nature and give back to their community with the gift of trees. After the trees were planted, six Wolf Tree, Inc., a Davey company, employees tended to the trees by properly mulching each tree. The Wolf Tree employees, George Trice, Jeff Teehee, Harold Robison, John Conley and Ronnie Ruth came out to the park on a cold and rainy Saturday to make sure the community would have these trees to enjoy for many years to come – now that’s tree love!

Spreading Mulch and Tree Love

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Greening Our Equipment

This year, we established a bold goal to reduce our global fleet fuel consumption by 35% per labor hour by 2023 from a 2017 baseline. Since 95 percent of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emission footprint comes from our corporate fleet, achieving this goal requires innovative equipment.
In 2017, the Davey Institute and equipment department partnered with Husqvarna to pilot lithium-ion battery-powered equipment, such as tree trimmers and leaf blowers. Testing the equipment with our residential and commercial business segments, we found that this equipment performs on par with, or better than, gas-powered equipment. Furthermore, this equipment is substantially quieter and physically less straining on our employees’ arms and hands.
Due to the pilot’s success, the Davey Institute endorsed the battery-powered tools for all offices to consider when replacing older equipment. Two offices in Northeast Ohio have already switched exclusively to battery-powered equipment, and we will continue to promote battery-powered equipment throughout our operations in 2018.
“The battery-powered equipment is not only quieter, protecting our employees’ hearing and providing a quieter neighborhood around job sites, it also lowers the risk of hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). Compared with gas-powered chainsaws, vibrations in the battery-powered equipment are almost nonexistent.” Mike Veney, manager of environmental programs

Greening Our Equipment

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Modeling Green Infrastructure

Over the past few years, i-Tree has grown into a leading suite of natural resource modeling and valuation tools. A collaboration between Davey, the U.S. Forest Service and other partners, the i-Tree suite now comprises four downloadable programs and nine web-based applications. The free software aids users in modeling canopy cover and waterflow, controlling urban pollution and temperature, and analyses of landscape planning and design.
I-Tree Hydro, the first vegetation-specific urban hydrology model, enables urban planners, engineers and others to simulate the effects of changes in urban tree cover and impervious surfaces on the hydrologic cycle. Created with city-scale in mind, storm water engineers and natural resource managers can use i-Tree Hydro to assess how management practices can affect local stream responses to storms.
Version 6 of i-Tree Hydro, currently in beta testing, includes several enhancements, including enhanced green infrastructure modeling, pollution analyses, and climate-based simulations.

Modeling Green Infrastructure

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Wood Block Becomes Art for Client

FirstEnergy, one of our valued clients, hosted a Family Safety Day at their complex in Fairlawn, Ohio, to educate employees families on the importance of safety. While the event was focused on safety, it was also chock full of good old-fashioned fun. Sharing a mutual commitment to safety, we eagerly accepted when asked to participate in the event. Additionally, Davey sponsored a woodcarving demonstration at the event, using wood waste from our operations to create a lasting piece of art. A local woodcarver, Bob Anderson, shaped the block of wood into a bear with a welcome sign, which was given away as a door prize at the event.
To emphasize the event’s safety focus, Anderson worked behind safety barriers while wearing the correct personal protective equipment (PPE). Two Davey employees, Lee Jordan, area manager, Utility Services and Shane Adams, general foreman, FirstEnergy account, were on hand to help answer safety questions during the demonstration. The entire process took about two hours to complete and resulted in a unique, one-of-a-kind piece for a lucky family.

Wood Block Becomes Art for Client

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Honoring Veterans With Trees

To honor both trees and veterans, Davey Resource Group (DRG) helped plant half a dozen trees this Arbor Day in Fall River, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts’ Department of Conservation and Recreation worked alongside DRG employees to replace windstorm damaged trees with a resistant variety of American elm trees.
Fall River Street Tree Planting Program (FRSTPP) organized the event and invited Andy Hillman, regional business developer for DRG, and Liz McKinley, associate consultant for DRG, to demonstrate proper planting and mulching procedures. The mayor of Fall River dedicated the trees to Fall River veterans who were killed in the Gulf War and Mary Ann Wordell, the founder and president of the FRSTPP.

“We’ve done this planting in Fall River since 2011. We even transplanted a giant sequoia tree one year for Arbor Day.”Andy Hillman, regional business developer, DRG

Honoring Veterans With Trees

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Davey Adopts Signal Tree

The Davey Tree Expert Company committed to adopting one of Akron’s most iconic historical landmarks, the Signal Tree. Located in the Summit Metro Parks, the tree is estimated to be more than 350 years old with a rich, local history.
This adoption ensures the Signal Tree continues to receive proper arboricultural care for the next five years. Davey’s Akron Residential/Commercial office will provide regular maintenance of the tree in addition to annual assessments of the tree’s health. Davey Tree has a long history of working with the Signal Tree and has been involved in its care for more than 40 years. Among many different theories, the Signal Tree is said to have been a landmark for Native Americans to hold ceremonial gatherings. No one is quite sure of the exact historical significance of the tree, but the three-prong trunk is certainly indicative that its growth pattern was manually shaped by humans.
Davey Tree will continue to donate care for the Signal Tree through 2022.

“As a tree care company, we have a special interest and appreciation for large, historical wonders like the Signal Tree. And since the Signal Tree is in a public green space, it’s especially important that we keep it healthy so our community can enjoy its beauty and the benefits of a healthy and beautiful green space for many years to come.” Sandra Reid, vice president of corporate communications and strategic planning administration

Davey Adopts Signal Tree

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

Embracing the Skies

Each day, our teams at the Davey Resource Group (DRG) and Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. (WSSI) assist clients with planning and managing their landscapes. From wetland restoration to endangered species consulting, our scientists, foresters and planners work tirelessly to protect our clients’ natural resources. In 2017, DRG and WSSI added several drones to their equipment fleets, providing Davey technicians another tool to help deliver unmatched services.
Equipped with drones, Davey’s certified drone pilots can offer a variety of aerial inspection services to our clients, such as:

Providing images for inspection of utility rights-of-way clearances

Imaging for GIS mapping

Wetland inspection

Tree canopy control work

Historically, technicians have often relied on lower-quality satellite imagery for many of these applications. The high-resolution cameras on our drones offer improved aerial imagery, as well as videography capabilities. The drones also enable Davey to correct image distortion, providing more detailed, spatially correct topographical sitemaps and taking our mapping services to new heights.
“Our main goal is to continue providing our clients with innovative solutions that meet their needs and exceed the quality they expect.” Deborah Sheeler, production manager, Davey Resource Group

Embracing the Skies

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

Innovative Solution Hydrates Trees

Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, nestled on a bluff, sits the San Elijo Campground, a place Vince Mikulanis, production manager with Davey Resource Group, remembers fondly from his childhood camping days.
This past Arbor Day, teams from the Davey Resource Group (DRG), the San Diego R/C office and over 70 volunteers partnered to help revitalize the campground, which was devastated by drought and the invasive insect, myoporum thrips. Volunteers installed Catalina ironwood, Catalina cherry and Torrey pine trees— drought tolerant trees that can withstand the salt-spray from the ocean and sandy soil—along with smaller shrubs.
Drought tolerant trees still require hydration, which sparked volunteers to suggest a novel source of water—ice from coolers. Campers traditionally dumped leftover or unused ice on the ground or in the streets. It is not uncommon to use 20 pounds of ice, which equates to about five gallons of water. Signs installed throughout the campground now encourage campers to take the ice over to the trees and dump it.
In June, Mikulanis visited the site and observed people heeding the recommendation and watering the trees with their cooler ice and water. He hopes 20 years from now, his children can camp at San Elijo and enjoy the improvements the volunteers made to the site this year.

Innovative Solution Hydrates Trees

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

Climate Change and Arboriculture

Dan Herms, vice president of research and development for Davey, spoke about climate change and its impact on arboriculture at multiple conferences in 2018. In an interview with the Davey Bulletin, Herms shared his knowledge of climate change and how it affects Davey’s clients.
Weather and climate are differentiated by the measurements of time, climate is long-term, and weather varies daily. In a little over 100 years, the average temperature has risen 2 degrees Fahrenheit. This may not seem like much, but since the 80s, Earth has started warming faster than it has since the end of the last ice age almost 12,000 years ago.
There are no naturally occurring phenomena that could be causing the climate changes we are witnessing. Almost all scientists agree that this warming is caused by an accumulation of greenhouse gases (CO₂) in the atmosphere. For Davey clients, the warmer temperatures are contributing to pest problems, higher stress in trees and higher intensity of storms threatening trees, and the environment they live in. In other areas, tree growth is increasing because of increased precipitation and a longer growing season. With proper species selection and tree health care practices, trees can help mitigate climate change by decreasing energy use and sequestering carbon.

Climate Change and Arboriculture

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

Davey Crews Aid Hurricane Clean-up

Traveling from as far away as Maine and California, more than 1,000 Davey employees aided Hurricane Irma recovery efforts. Because the storm hit so shortly after Hurricane Harvey, some crews went directly from storm work in Texas to storm work in Florida.
Many crews convoyed to locations closer to the storm path a week prior to landfall so that they could respond immediately after the storm subsided. While waiting for the storm, crews reviewed safety procedures and prepared equipment.
The crews’ response to Harvey was unique because it lacked hazards common in other storms, such as downed power lines and trees laying on power lines under tension. Instead of typical tree damage due to high winds, it was primarily uprooted trees due to flooding and soil saturation.
After Hurricane Irma came through, the damage in Florida included fallen trees, but much of the cleanup work consisted of broken limbs on lines and leaning trees, or damaged trees otherwise blocking the utility rights-of-way.
After the storm, crews from all of Davey’s service lines spent weeks identifying and removing tree hazards to help power companies restore electricity quickly.
“We cannot fully express how proud we are of these employees. We are grateful, our clients are grateful, and the public is grateful for their service. Above all, we are happy that they came home safely.” Brent Repenning, executive vice president, U.S. Utility and Davey Resource Group

Davey Crews Aid Hurricane Clean-up

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

Supporting J&J’s Sustainability Efforts

Longtime Davey client Johnson & Johnson presented details of its new sustainability goals during an Earth Day event at their Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, campus. Jason Parker, district manager of Davey’s North Philadelphia R/C office, was invited to attend the event.
Johnson & Johnson is working to make the campus 80 percent sustainable by 2020 and 100 percent by 2050. To meet this goal, the client installed a solar array and storm water management system on site, which has created some unique landscape maintenance challenges for Davey.
Davey crews regularly apply turf growth regulator around the solar array to minimize mowing requirements and prevent damage to the arrays, which are expensive to replace if accidentally damaged. The crews must keep wildflowers—seeded as part of a storm water management system—out of the turf.
Davey also prioritizes protecting the health of the 80-plus ash trees at the site against the emerald ash borer. Strict local regulations require inch-for-inch tree replacement for removed trees, which could result in a large expense should the trees require removal. For example, if a 30-inch tree was removed, enough new trees would need to be planted to equal the removed 30-inch tree. In addition to answering questions about the trees on Johnson & Johnson’s campus, Parker answered employees’ questions about how to protect their own trees.

Supporting J&J’s Sustainability Efforts

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

Fire-Fighting Effort Earns Award

Dan Defelice, a UVM specialist, San Diego Gas & Electric account, Davey Resource Group, was traveling to the office when he noticed a fire with billowing smoke on the side of the highway.
Defelice speedily dialed 911, only to hear a blaring busy signal. Knowing he had a backpack-style fire pump, Defelice sprang into action and put his fire training to use. He knew the fire was still small enough that he could work to put it out safely.
Defelice hoped he could stop it from spreading. Instead, he put the fire out from a safe distance within a few minutes.
“You can always do something to help. Just stay calm, step up and do what you gotta do.” Dan Defelice, UVM specialist, San Diego Gas & Electric account, Davey Resource Group

Fire-Fighting Effort Earns Award

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

New Age Communications Construction Joins Davey Resource Group

Davey Resource Group, Inc. (DRG), a subsidiary of The Davey Tree Expert Company, acquired the assets of New Age Communications Construction, LLC, (NACC), a telecommunications construction firm based in Cincinnati, Ohio. NACC provides fiber construction, small cell deployment and cable maintenance and construction services for the telecommunications industry in parts of the Northeast, Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Scott Carlin, vice president, asset management services, DRG, said “we look forward to providing the experienced and committed employees of NACC with the opportunity to grow their careers in a culture that is supported by all the benefits of employee-ownership.“The construction, installation and maintenance services expertise of NACC further enhances our ability to provide clients a single-source to deploy fiber and wireless infrastructure. The strength of DRG has always been our commitment to meeting clients’ needs. With the addition of NACC, we are structured to support our clients’ demand for a streamlined process to 5G deployment.”

Scott Carlin, vice president, asset management services, DRG

New Age Communications Construction Joins Davey Resource Group

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

Beech Leaf Disease Research Partnership

The mysterious beech leaf disease, which was first detected in Ohio in 2012 and has no identified causal agent yet, gave Davey’s Anand Persad, manager, arboriculture and plant sciences, the opportunity to present on groundbreaking research into the disease.
Persad was one of several invited speakers at the 2018 Beech Leaf Disease Workshop at Cleveland Metroparks Watershed Stewardship Center in May. Davey partnered with the Metroparks to conduct research on beech trees in the parks.
Persad said one aspect of Davey’s research includes trenching around smaller trees and treating select beech trees within the parks with a potassium-based fertilizer to see if it can both sustain the trees and help protect them from the disease.
Speakers and attendees at the two-day workshop came from across the U.S. and included numerous state and federal researchers and policymakers.

“If the research proves that this method works, then we could have the beginnings of a Plant Health Care program for beech trees with regard to this disease.” Anand Persad, manager, arboriculture and plant sciences

Beech Leaf Disease Research Partnership

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

Teaching i-Tree in Canada

Al Zelaya, urban forester, the Davey Institute, conducted a webinar hosted by the Canadian Institute of Forestry focusing on i-Tree tools for improving urban forest resilience and community health. The idea of the webinar was to introduce tools that Canadians could use, such as i-Tree Canopy, i-Tree Eco and i-Tree Design, Zelaya said. Zelaya hoped attendees left the webinar understanding that there are amazing ways to look at vegetation and the benefits it can provide communities.

“It’s about changing perceptions and opening their eyes to the services and values that vegetation right in front of them provides. Showing that trees are not only providing economic values, but many other social and environmental benefits that i-Tree and other tools can’t really quantify.”

Al Zelaya, urban forester, Davey Institute

Teaching i-Tree in Canada

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

Davey and Partners Launch Shigo Collection Website

Davey, along with the Southern Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) and the USDA Forest Service, proudly announce the launch of the Shigo Collection Learning Resource Center website. The website, shigo.davey.com, creates a platform for viewing part of Dr. Alex Shigo’s collection and to learn about his legacy. The website features 3-D renditions of Dr. Shigo’s wood collection, dozens of his over 300 publications and personal history and accomplishments.

In addition to making the Shigo Collection available for public access online, Davey is integrating the content into the curriculum of the Davey Institute of Tree Sciences, Davey’s flagship training program in biological sciences, safety, tree and plant care and management techniques. As part of this industry partnership, and in the spirit of continued education and work force development, Davey is also providing financial support to the Southern Chapter Memorial Scholarship.

“This partnership is dedicated to the preservation of monumental contributions Dr. Shigo made to modern arboriculture. This website creates the opportunity for students of arboriculture everywhere to interact with the rich history and knowledge of the Shigo Collection.”Greg Ina, executive vice president of the Davey Institute and employee development

Davey and Partners Launch Shigo Collection Website

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INNOVATIVE THINKING

A Smarter Fleet

With nearly 10,000 vehicles spread across the continent, managing Davey’s vehicle fleet is complex. In 2016, we began piloting a new tool in utility vehicles to streamline our mobile resource management—the Davey Fleet Solutions program. A suite of Telogis integrated mobile applications, the Fleet Solutions program provides employees a simple, yet comprehensive solution to fleet management.
Through tablets installed in each truck cab, employees can access training videos, digital inspection and job briefing forms, electronic safety tailgate documents and other materials. In addition, drivers can fill out digital vehicle inspection reports, take photographs and submit all the information instantly to a central database.
Real-time tracking of non-productive idling, start times and time on site supports efficient asset deployment. Data also supports driver safety—tracking driver habits through a mobile interface that reports on driver performance. The interface also rates drivers against their peers, encouraging improved driving through friendly competition. Top drivers in the program are also rewarded for earning high marks.
So far, we have expanded the Davey Fleet Solutions program to more than 500 vehicles—approximately 10 percent of our Utility fleet.
“We’re able to pull utilization rates daily—that’s a real benefit. When we see a truck sitting idle or at 30 percent utilization, we’re able to transfer it to another client or region right away.” Laura Wimer, director of client experience, Eastern Utility